Fresh Mexico_ 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor - Marcela Valladolid [40]
If you think it’s easier to purchase your salsa in a jar, let me prove you wrong. For the recipes in this book, I have purposely omitted the use of a molcajete (mortar and pestle), the traditional tool for making salsa, and call for a blender or processor in its place. The truth is, while the processor blade cuts through the ingredients, a molcajete presses and grinds to release natural juices and flavorings, yielding superior flavor and texture. But at the risk of upsetting my ancestors, my priority is for you to actually make these salsas. If you do happen to have a molcajete, go ahead and use it. If not, don’t let that stop you.
In addition to recipes for traditional salsas, I have included a few straight from my own kitchen, and my own cravings. For example, anyone who knows me knows I could eat an entire jar of mayonnaise. I haven’t actually done this yet, but you can bet if I attempt it, it will be the homemade chipotle mayonnaise. I love it for chicken salad or for spreading on tostadas, and I am always mixing stuff into it, like roasted jalapeños and capers.
The idea with salsas is to have fun. After you make one successful salsa, you’ll want to try another, and another. Before long, salsa will be as natural (and essential) to your meals as ketchup is to those French fries.
ROASTED TOMATILLO—CILANTRO SALSA
MAKES 1½ CUPS
1½ pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
2 small onions, quartered
1 serrano chile, halved, stemmed, and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 head garlic, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil
½ cup chicken broth
½ avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
A fresh salsa verde, or green sauce, made with tomatillos is a perfect condiment for almost any meal (I like it on grilled chicken tacos), and just as good as a dip for tortilla chips.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put the tomatillos, onions, and serrano chile on a baking sheet, all cut side up. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Put the foil-wrapped garlic on the same baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, or until the garlic and vegetables are soft and the edges of the vegetables are beginning to brown. Let cool slightly.
Transfer the tomatillos, onions, and serrano chile to a blender. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze the garlic cloves from their papery skins into the blender. Add the broth, and puree to a chunky texture. (The salsa can be made 1 day ahead up to this point. Cool, cover, and refrigerate.)
Before serving, fold the avocado and cilantro into the salsa, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
TOMATILLOS
A tomatillo is a small green fruit encased in a tissue-paper-like husk (which is why it is sometimes called the husk-tomato). Inadigenous to Mexico, tomatillos have been use.….in cooking since pre-Columbian times. They continue to be a staple in Mexican cuisine, and they are the main ingredient in salsa verde. As the Latino population in the United States increases, tomatillos are becoming more readily available in large supermarkets.
Tomatillos should be used when they are still green, before they are ripe and the husk has turned brown. Before using them, remove the husk and then rinse and dry the fruit thoroughly (they do not need to be seeded).
Mini tomatillos, harder to find, are about the size of a cherry tomato and can be used in place of regular tomatillos, with slightly sweeter results.
SALSA BORRACHA
MAKES 1 CUP
8 ancho chiles
½ cup fresh