Classic guacamole

Slice three serrano peppers thin, seeds and all.

Chop a big pinch of cilantro and pile it on the peppers, add about a third of a cup of diced white onion, and chop it all briefly together.

Sprinkle over kosher or other coarse salt, then alternate smearing the pile with the flat of the knife against the board and chopping it, to simulate the grinding of a molcajete. Grinding releases far more flavour than chopping alone. Stop at the texture wanted, from coarse to a fine paste.

Halve each avocado by cutting to the seed and round, twist the halves apart, tap the blade into the seed about a sixteenth of an inch and twist it out, pushing it off the blade from the far side rather than pulling.

Scoop the flesh into a bowl. There is no need to hold it in lime juice; it will not brown in five or ten minutes.

Add more chopped cilantro, the ground onion and serrano mixture, a generous sprinkling of salt and fresh lime juice.

Mash with a potato masher to the texture wanted, smooth or chunky.

Taste and adjust; it almost always needs another pinch of salt and possibly more acidity. Classic guacamole has no cayenne in it.

Chill, or transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with a little chopped cilantro. Serve with chips.