You've been hanging onto it
And I sure would like a hit
Bien venidos, mis amigos...The Salsa Bar is open. I'll share a few recipes here for both salsa and a few other hot condiments. Some are your commonly found Mexican salsas, and some are from other cuisines around the globe. It's all good, and it's all hot. There will be some international travel involved, so make sure your shots and travel documents are all up to date.
Salsa is a generic term, and there are few, if any, carved in stone recipes. Salsas vary from region to region, town to town...indeed, from family to family. Yet, there is a place to begin.
Join me below the Chile Ristra to see where I begin, and lets take the journey together.
But first...a little song to get us all in the mood. Because this diary, after all, is about hot stuff.
Salsa Roja...it all starts here.
This is where it all begins. Chiles de arbol, garlic, some tomatillos, water and salt. Really, folks...it doesn't get any more basic or any better. This recipe is from Rick Bayless, and it's bare bones good. It's not so much a recipe as it is a template, though. You can start here and go off in many, many directions.
1/2 ounce small hot dried chiles, stemmed but not seeded (I call 1/2 oz a generous handfull...you needn't break out the digital scale when making salsa)
6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 pound (10 to 12 medium-size) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
Salt
Sugar, about 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
In an ungreased skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles, stirring for 1 minute, until they are very aromatic (some will have slightly darkened spots on them). Transfer to a bowl, cover with hot water and rehydrate for 30 minutes. In the same skillet, roast the garlic, turning regularly, until soft and blotchy-dark in places, about 15 minutes. Cool and slip off the papery skin.
Roast the tomatillos on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until soft, even blackened in spots, about 5 minutes on each side. Cool, then transfer the contents of the baking sheet (including any juices) to a blender or a food processor.
Finishing the salsa: Drain the chiles and add to the tomatillos along with the garlic. Puree, then scrape into a serving dish. Stir in enough water to give a spoonable consistency, usually about 1/4 cup. Season with salt, usually 1 teaspoon, and the optional sugar. Refrigerated, the salsa keeps for several days.
Note on chiles: This is one of the most versatile formulas to know, since you can go to practically any grocery store and find at least one variety of small hot dried chile. In a Mexican market (on either side of the border), the possibilities multiply quickly from the nuttiness of cascabel to the punch of arbol chiles, the peanutiness of piquin, and the smoky sweetness of red chipotles. As a rough guide, 1/2 ounce dried chiles corresponds to 6 red chipotles (moritas), 4 tan chipotles, 16 arbols, 3 cascabels or 1/4 cup piquin.
If the above is the only salsa you ever make...you won't be sorry.
But every good tacqueria has not only red salsa but salsa verde. Here's a quick version of the green stuff that will moisten your tacos and give them a kick:
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks and stems removed
2 jalapeño or serrano peppers
1 small white onion, skin removed, split in half
1 bunch fresh picked cilantro leaves and tender stems
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh juice from about 2 limes
You can either place the tomatillos, onion and peppers in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, then simmer for about ten minutes...Or you can place them in a baking pan and roast in the oven until you see the tomatillos getting some charred spots.
In either case, place the cooked ingredients in a blender of food processor with 1 TBSp of the lime juice and the cilantro. Pulse until everything is pureed, and salt to taste or add more lime juice to taste. This makes about one quart, but it goes fast.
Now...I hope everyone has there travel documents in order, and their shots up to date. We're going to hop a plane and do some globe trotting. First stop, Port of Spain, Trinidad...for some Caribbean Peppa Sauce.
As with salsa, recipes for a good homemade peppa sauce abound. The common denominators are scotch bonnet peppers, onion, carrots and vinegar. My neighbor down the street is from Trinidad, and here's the recipe she shared with me:
12 Scotch Bonnet peppers (or habaneros, if that's all you can find. Habaneros are hotter, and slightly less fruitier than Scotch Bonnets)
1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup yellow prepared mustard (think French's...don't use dijon...it will overpower the sauce) If you feel compelled to use shi shi mustard, use honey mustard.
4 cloves garlic
2 limes, juiced
1 mango, peeled and diced, or one cup pineapple chunks or sweet papaya
(It's hard to find a really good, sweet papaya here in North America...if it's bland, don't even bother with it)
Blanch the habaneros in boiling water for one minute. (stemmed, obviously, and deseeded if you you don't like napalm) Throw all the ingredients in a blender an puree. You can add cilantro, if you wish. Scoop into pint mason jars. This will keep in the fridge for months. This won't be as thin as the bottled habanero sauces from the store...But you can thin it with a little water if you wish it thinner.
I have another neighbor who's from Belize....She's bringing me her homemade hot peppa sauce tomorrow morning. She's only 28 years old, and I asked her this evening if she considered herself a good cook or not. She looked me straight in the eye and said she's a good cook. When I asked about hot sauce, she told me to wait until tomorrow morning, and suggested I wear sock suspenders. I can't wait.
Next flight takes us to Quito, Ecuador. South American food is not spicy, as a rule, but the Andean countries of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia all routinely have a table sauce made from a South American pepper...the Aji Amarillo, that allows each diner to make the meal as spicy as they wish. Aji Amarillos are hard to find here in the U.S., even though the growing conditions are similar. They register at about 40,000 on the Scoville scale, which makes them almost twice as hot as a serrano, but still significantly less hot than a Scotch Bonnet (150,000). Unlike a serrano, they are consistently hot, and they have a very distinctive fruity character to them. Really...this is the almost perfect pepper for cooking with if you are a chile head. Right in the Scoville Sweet Zone...and flavorfull. There aren't many peppers that fill that bill.
Get thyself some seeds for this pepper my friends, and grow them. That is sage advice. Burpees calls them lemon hot peppers, others simply call them aji amarillo. You will love these peppers. They are beautiful peppers.
Aji Criollo
This isn't a salsa, and it isn't a hot sauce...it occupies a niche of its own. But I call it a table sauce. Call it what you wish...it is addictive.
4 ajies or hot peppers (I use a mix of jalapeno/serrano/thai red and half of a habanero...because it gives the best mix of heat and fruitiness) I you are fortunate enough to live in a place where aji amarillos can be found...use them, and them only
½ bunch of cilantro (stems and leaves)
½ cup of water
3 garlic cloves
Juice from 1 lime or 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion (scallions can also be used)
Combine the hot peppers, cilantro, water, garlic cloves and lime juice in the blender or food processor and blend well.
Add the chopped white onions or scallions and salt to taste.
This stuff rocks...trust me.
Fasten your seatbelts...next stop is Yemen.
Can you say Zhug? Pronounce the z while clearing your throat. I knew you could. It rhymes with Moog, if you say moog while coughing up phlegm.
This isn't salsa...and it's a little too thick to call sauce. It's a condiment. A hot one.
My wife, an Israeli Sabra, introduced me to Zhug about 7 years ago, and I have taken over the Zhug preparation since about 4 years ago. This is serious stuff, for serious chile heads. You can take this into the stratosphere, if you wish. But here is the basic recipe:
10 to 14 jalapenos or serranos, seeded if you like and coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 8-10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground green cardamom
• 1 bunch coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 to 4 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Place the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender and pulse several times, until you get a smooth paste. You will have to scrape down all the bits and pieces that stick to the sides of the bowl.
Pack in a jar and store in the refrigerator. Zhug will keep for for a long time in the refrigerator...just float a little olive oil on top of it. Feel free to substitute some thai red chiles or experiment at will. This is an herby condiment...and the parsley and cilantro provide much of the intitial flavor. But make no mistake...it is hot. I use it in soups, stews, I mix a little bit in mayo for a a turkey sandwich or fried green tomatoes. Once you make this, you'll find endless uses for it.
North Africa...last stop
Harissa
Harissa, harissa, harissa. This stuff is the bomb. Widely consumed in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Like, zhug, this is used as a condiment. You can add it to soups and sauces (try it with tomato sauce over fish)...if you have it, you'll find a use for it.
6 oz birds eye chiles
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
t tbsp salt
1 tsp carraway seeds, coarsely ground in a mill
1/2 cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems
1/2 cup olive oil
Rehydrate the chiles by covering in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain. Place the chiles, garlic, ground coriander, cumin, salt, carraway and cilantro into a blender or food processor. If the mixture is too dry, add a bit of the olive oil. Store in a bowl or jar in the refrigerator with the remaining oil poured in a layer over the top.
Make sure that the surface is covered with a layer of oil each time you use some. When you run out of Harissa you can use the oil to add flavor to fried or baked dishes.
I mix this with yoghurt and coat country style pork ribs with it and bake them...they are delish.
So...there you go. What have you got?