It comes in handy to have a couple of lick-your-bowl-clean dips under your sleeve. That way when you know you are going to entertain a large crowd, or a small crowd of big eaters like the ones who live under my roof, you can whip up one of them fast while you figure out the rest of the meal.
This one has become a big hit at home. It combines ripe and mashed smooth avocado with a creamy and very tangy base of goat cheese. It is then beefed up with a generous amount of tasty crisp bacon bites and a judicious amount of jalapeño and shallots. On top of the dip you can drizzle a bit of rich sesame oil and sesame seeds. Continue reading “A Crazy Good Dip”
This marinated salsa – more like a pickle or relish – is sweet, mildly spicy, and beguiling.
It is a very versatile salsa, too, as you can use it like a regular salsa and spoon it on top of any kind of antojito, like tacos, quesadillas, and even scoop it up with chips. It can also act as a luxurious relish for grilled meat, chicken or seafood, not to mention paninis, tortas or hamburgers. You can also use it as the surprising final touch on crostinis with a base of goat or fresh cheese, or cherry tomatoes… And these are just a few options.
I am so crazy about it, I can eat it like candy. I even said so below… (right after I showed you how to make it).
Yet, one of my favorite ways to use it is as a chunky vinaigrette on top of your mozzarella and tomato salad or over a grilled romaine and red bell pepper salad that I dreamed up with this ancho chile salsa in mind.
That is how I used it on one of my PBS series episodes, where the video clip I just shared with you comes from and got a fabulous response. However, I realized after reading some of the messages like the ones below…
“Watching for the 1st time & just caught the end of something that you were just finishing & took a bite out of. You said it was simple to make & will keep in the fridge forever. It looked like a mason jar with some kind of peppers in it. Do you know what was in it? Thanks, Shelley”
“Hi i’m asking for the recipe u had in a mason jar I think it was a salsa with chili, I wish I knew the name. Can u help me please, you had it in your show when you did bbq ribs with your sister visiting. Thanks again, Cecilia”
“You made something on the Sunday, September 21st TV show that had long dried black peppers that you cut with scissors. You made this jam or salsa and put it in the refrigerator. You said you put it on everything. You keep it in your refrigerator with backup available. Please give me this recipe. Thank you, Crystal”
“Pati, What was in the jar that you made that you said you keep in the refrigerator and eat like candy from the girls just want to have fun episode. It was a pickled something can you tell me what that was? Adam”
“Hi Pati, I always enjoy watching your show. However I missed the first part of your ancho chile vinaigrette. Did u use dried chile or fresh chile? Thanks, Marj”
“Hola Paty Me gusta mucho su programa. En uno de sus programas dio la receta para hacer una conserva de chile ancho, se me pasaron los ingredientes, podria darme los ingredientes. Laura”
“Hi Pati, I just watched your show – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and you make what I thought was an Ancho Chile Relish. You said it is a staple that you keep in your icebox every day … in a ball jar! I have looked all over for the recipe – could you help me? Rita”
“Dear Pati, The show with your girl friends that you made the ribs and the drinks out in your back yard was great. But you made a dressing with chiles that you used in the salad you made with I think was onions, oil, vinegar, not too sure, but you and your sister tasted it outside your house. You kept it in the fridge. In a jar. Can you give me the recipe? It looked so tasty, you cut the chile with scissors. Thank you in advance, would appreciate a response. Thanks again. Have a great Mother’s Day!!!! Judith”
“Pati, I just caught my first show of yours on PBS. Love your passion for great food and will be watching more shows as they air! Just wondering if you have the recipe for the ancho chile sauce you made in the jar on your website somewhere? Jim”
“Hola Pati I just watched your episode that featured the Chipotle Honey Ribs. I was intrigued by the Ancho Salsa that you made and kept in the refrigerator. I tried to find it in the recipe from the episode but couldn’t find it. Any way you can post the ingredients? Thanks, Dan”
“I do not know if it’s called that but you used ancho chile cut up with a scissor and placed in a jar with other ingredients, but I have not been able to find the recipe. You can eat it alone. I do want to try it. Thank you. Love your show, Wanda”
…that the Ancho Chile Vinaigrette (or Salsa or Pickle) should have been a stand alone recipe. It deserves its very own post.
The main star of this salsa (or pickle, or vinaigrette, or relish…) is the ancho chile. A dreamy and spectacular ingredient in its own right.
Making it is so easy, simply stem and seed the anchos and cut them with a pair of scissors (that is why in some northern states versions of it are also called Salsa de Tijera).
Then you add chopped white onion, garlic…
Vegetable oil…
Rice and white vinegar, brown sugar and salt…
Mix it up, and let it do its thing… After 8 hours, you can store it in the refrigerator, and it will last as long as you have it there to finish it up (ok at least 6 months…)!
I usually add everything to a glass jar; the same one I am going to store it in. I then shake it up, close it and place it in the refrigerator. I made it in this red casserole, just to show the steps… Whichever method you choose, I promise it will be worth your while.
Salsa Macha is a very thick and unusual salsa that comes from the state of Veracruz. Located along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, it has been for centuries, a gateway for waves of immigrants from all over the world into Mexico (like my paternal grandparents).
Veracruz, being such an important channel for exchange and always immersed in flux, has seen some of the most interesting combinations of ingredients, cooking techniques and traditions. Salsa Macha is an example.
It is made by frying dried chipotle chiles (mainly the morita kind) in a generous amount of olive oil, along with garlic cloves. The last two ingredients courtesy of the Spanish conquest, for sure. Then it is seasoned with salt. Some versions add fresh chiles such as serranos or jalapeños into the mix. Many times peanuts are added and sesame seeds too.
This one here, is my preferred version, and I take the liberty of adding a joyous amount of vinegar and some brown sugar or piloncillo to balance it off. This combination pleases me so much, that I spoon it on crusty bread with much joy.
Since it has a lot of olive oil, the chile paste will sink to the bottom after it rests for a few minutes. You can choose to stir it up and eat it well combined, or you can let it settle, and use the flavored oil.
p.s. The name is a funny one, because macha, is the femenine of the word macho. So it can translate as being a masculine female salsa. Macha can also translate as brave, so you can take your pick!
This is one of the quickest recipes that I have come up with.
It was just as quick to come up with it, as it was quick to make it.
It was sheer craving: I imagined it to accompany the Potato, Sweet Potato and Granny Smith Latkes, but you can use it to complement so many other things.
It just mixes the already salty and tangy Mexican Cream with the crunchy chopped fennel bulb, fragrant fennel fronds, fresh-squeezed lime juice and salt.
Hey: You may also use it as a vegetable dip, why not?
I began to see the exotic side of the tomatillo once in the US.
Growing up in Mexico, they were a standard at every market, part of our weekly mandado, present in our family meals at least half a dozen times a week: in salsa verde to pour on top of almost everything, in enchiladas, chilaquiles, bathing fish, covering a shredded meat and potato stew, and sometimes cactus paddles.
Think something like salt … how odd it is to find a kitchen without salt?
Once we moved to Texas, the only place I could find them was in Latino stores. As the years moved on, there was no one I met without a Mexican connection who had ever cooked with a tomatillo or even dared to bring one home.
Sure, many people love salsa verde and eat it in restaurants or buy a jar at the store, but few know that its star ingredient, is the tomatillo.
Ok, I get it.
It’s hard to tell what a gorgeous creature the tomatillo is from the outside. With its papery husk specked with dust that sticks to the sticky and seemingly mossy skin… So fifteen years later, now that they are not only in Latino stores but also in mainstream ones, its no surprise to see that not many people place them in their baskets.
But, husked and rinsed, stripped down to their natural glory, tomatillos are a stunner. Bright and crisp, smooth and shinny, with a firmer flesh than the tomato and with an unmatchable tart flavor, they are stars undercover waiting to be discovered.
Amazing it is, that I realized how unique they are once outside of Mexico. Moreover, how versatile they can be. Not only for salty spins, but for sweet ones too. And always, so easy to use. I’ve now used them cooked and raw, in sauces, stews, salads and one of my favorites: Jam.
The brilliant and adventurous Mexican Chef Enrique Olvera first introduced me to the sweet spin of tomatillos, when he came to DC to cook for a special event at the Institute. He and his sous chef, prepared a quick tomatillo jam made with water, vinegar and sugar and served it with a variety of cheeses and crackers. Heavenly!
Playing with his idea, being a fan of the combination of the tartness of the tomatillo with the tangy taste from citrus, after quite a few tries I found what has now become a staple in our home. A tomatillo and lime jam.
All you do is dice those tomatillos, place them in a medium sauce pan along with the sugar, and the lime rind. You can add the rind in a long single piece or you can cut it into little pieces, which I am now getting fond of as you can enjoy those delicious bites later on.
Cover with water…
Add a pinch of salt, to balance things out in that pan…
Bring it all to a medium simmer, and let it thicken until it has a thin and loose jam consistency. Keep an eye on it as it does, and stir here and there… Don’t let it thicken too much because it will thicken as it cools.
That’s all there is to it!
See how amazed I am by its beauty and flavor, that I can’t help but keep on adding more and more photos in here…
Well, I also love that set of plates my sister Alisa gave me for my birthday and think they photograph so beautifully.
You can have the jam with a piece of toast as you sip your morning coffee (fine, or tea too…), spoon it over a piece of pound cake, serve it as an exotic side to your appetizer cheese platter…
Or, why not? Just spoon it right into your mouth. Like I do. You will bite not only those delicious tomatillo seeds covered in that sweet, tart, tangy jam, but you will also get those irresistibly bitter caramelized pieces of lime rind.
The beauty of the tomatillo, becomes increasingly exposed…
There are countless versions of Pico de Gallo salsas. Their trademark is having ingredients that are fresh rather than cooked, and diced and chopped rather than pureed. This is the most common and well-known version.
It is also incredibly colorful!
Shortly after posting one of my first Basic Ingredients posts, on Chipotles in Adobo Sauce, Cath Kelly from Australia commented: “I’ve been desperately looking for a recipe to make Chipotles in Adobo. We smoke our own Jalapeños which turn out beautiful, and this is the next step in my cooking process. Please hurry up and cook them up for us!”
Australia… An exotic place for someone to wonder how to make this addicting and versatile Mexican chile pickle. What’s more, as much as Chipotles in Adobo are a basic staple in Mexican cooking, most Mexicans buy them ready-made in cans in stores and of extraordinary quality.
Think mustard, do you buy it or make your own?
Then again, time has proved there are more people into making things from scratch than what I thought: The most visited Post on my site, by far, is the one to make Pickled Jalapeños. Another chile pickle devoured by Mexicans from morning ’til night, from north to south, also usually bought ready-made in cans.
Well, Cath, it has taken me a while. I am sorry. It has not been because I didn’t have your request in mind. On the contrary, I’ve been testing and tweaking my recipe here and there, for over a year (!) so that when you make it, it can be better than what you get in the stores.
There are different types of Chipotle Chiles. All Chipotles are Jalapeños that have been ripened, dried and smoked. They all turn out to be spicy, rich and smoky. But different varieties of Jalapeños turn into different varieties of Chipotles.
The smaller kind of Jalapeños, more intensely flavored and fragrant than the rest, turn into Chipotles Moritas, pictured above. Dark in color and deep in taste, they’re the ones I prefer. Commercial makers do too, probably because of their flavor and attractive color, but also because being smaller, they work well for the smaller sized cans sold in shops.
You can also use Chipotles Mecos, pictured below. They are bigger than Moritas and with a much lighter color. They are tasty too.
The perception exists, that it is complicated to make Chipotles in Adobo. It’s not.
Chipotles need to be rinsed and simmered in water for about 15 minutes. This rehydrates and plumps them up, so they can absorb the flavors from the Adobo sauce and have a soft bite.
Most recipes for pickling Chipotles, don’t include the Adobo element. But it is the Adobo which makes the store bought product so rich and delicious.
To make it, aside from the usual pickling suspects such as vinegar, oil and spices, after a lot of testing, I found out you need Ancho chiles. Some people add tomatoes some people don’t. My palate does call for them. Once the tomatoes and Ancho chiles are cooked in water until soft, and pureed, they make a rich Adobo base.
Yes… The idea of marinating a Chile in the puree of another Chile is wild. But it is exquisite. Chipotles are spicy, smoky and rich. Anchos are bittersweet, mild and have a prune like flavor. Trust me, they like each other’s company.
The Ancho chile base is cooked and seasoned over sauteed carrots, onion and garlic in olive oil.
With the addition of marjoram, thyme and bay leaves.
Then those chiles beg for salt and a generous amount of brown sugar, or piloncillo. What it does to those Chipotles is blissful.
No.
Maybe sinful.
You be the judge…
To finish the Adobo, pour rice vinegar and white distilled vinegar. That combination of vinegars works as if you were using the fruit based home made vinegars traditional in Mexico’s countryside.
Then you just add the chipotles, cook it all together for 10 minutes. And you are done.
Once they cool off, place them in pint sized jars.
This recipe will make four pints you can keep in the refrigerator until you finish eating them (they will last months and months and keep getting better).
There may be a more important reason why most Mexicans don’t make their own Chipotles in Adobo Sauce. Not only is it because the product sold at the shops is so good. Or because there is the perception that it takes a long time to make them. I think its mostly because they are so good, and eaten in such large quantities, that any home cook would need to make Chipotles in Adobo continuously in their kitchen to meet the steady demand for more.
They are eaten with everything! Tortas, sandwiches, quesadillas, tostadas as a pickle… They are also used to season and flavor from soups to stews, to tamales to beans, dressings and casseroles… and so much more…
Here you go Cath Kelly, I hope this recipe pleases you so. Now you got me in trouble, my husband says he will not eat the canned product anymore.
I am not one to prepare for disasters.
People can tell me a thousand times that severe thunderstorms are approaching, that a dry spell is forecasted or that a shortage of something essential like water (or coffee) will happen, and no, I will not be among the first to run for shelter nor stock up on provisions. I don’t know if it is my continuous belief that despite humps and downs eventually things turn out OK or if I am lacking an alarm button, I just don’t panic.
When I took it as a serious matter to go to the grocery store in the middle of my work day, at a rather inconvenient time, it wasn’t because there is a strong snowstorm coming (though my boys did give me an absurdly long grocery list to prepare for it), it was because we ran out of Mexican avocados.
The grocery store was wild; an insane crowd was moving around the isles, lines like I have never seen at the cashiers and empty shelves throughout. But oh! There they were… some beautiful ripe Mexican Hass avocados waiting for me to bring them home.
Although we use avocados at home for an infinity of things, we also love guacamole. It just never gets old around here, nor I think, anywhere. Yet, one of the versions I like the most uses Chipotle Chiles in Adobo instead of fresh Jalapeños or Serranos.
The creamy, silky and mild nature of the avocados takes a jump into the sky when paired with the smoky, spicy, rich and complexly flavored Chipotles in Adobo.
It may be that avocados work so well with chiles, because avocados are one of their natural soothing counterpart; the spicy element in chiles called capsaicin which is an oily substance, dissolves best in other oily elements, alcohol or milk products. Avocados, being oily in such a wholesome way are the remedy to the heat in the same bowl. This being said, if you feel like pumping up the heat and flavor by adding more chipotle chiles, you may want to pair this guacamole with a nice cold beer. And while you are at it, why not scoop some Mexican style cream or sour cream on top of the guacamole too. YUM.
Needless to say, this recipe takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. But most importantly given the date, this is my loved contribution for your Super Bowl gathering, whether it turns out to be a disaster or a party (!).
Make extra portions as it flies as soon as you mix it all up. And since no guacamole is complete without corn tortilla totopos or chips, here is a link to help you make some at home.
This salsa does hurt.
But just a little.
Yet it goes oh-so-well with the Pollo Pibil, which together with red pickled onions makes for a delicious Yucatecan meal. A bowl of this Habanero salsa is standard on just about every table in Yucatán. Around there, people drizzle some spoonfuls, or drops, on just about everything.
I recently found this salsa is heavenly combined with Louisiana style Bar-b-que and some baked beans (!). While it can make people very unhappy if not given a warning of how spicy it is, for the Yucatan class we had in December, the 20 batches made were gone before the middle of the meal. We did give our guests a warning… While my cooking team kept saying I was making too much, we made some bets, and much to my surprise, I won. I have learned now, that the American and international palate is much more open, than say a decade ago, for spicy foods.
So Habaneros have become wildly popular throughout the world. Aside from their cute, happy and beautiful appearance, they are one incredible source of heat and are used to make many hot sauces that heat aficionados, like my uncle, crave for.
The photo above shows some Habaneros my husband shot at the market in Mérida, Yucatán. The photo below, are Habaneros I found here in the DC area.
This wickeldy hot sauce is really easy to make at home. Just char the chiles and garlic cloves either in a broiler, a dry skillet or a hot comal (as I did below for the 20 batches of salsa for the Yucatán cooking class and dinner).
Then, please seed the chiles.
Believe me.
You must!
While I have gotten many requests for very spicy hot sauces from some of you, dear friends… please seed the Habaneros. If not, instead of wickedly-spicy salsa, you will have a somebody-please-help-me-or-I shall-die-from-this-heat salsa.
Once charred and soft, place the seeded chiles and peeled garlic cloves in the blender or your molcajete, and puree or mash away with some salt and either bitter orange or its substitute (1/4 orange juice, 1/4 grapefruit juice, 1/4 lime juice and 1/4 vinegar).
One of the nice things about using a molcajete, aside of exercising your arm a bit, is that the molcajete stores oils, flavors and aromas of the ingredients previously used. The molcajete adds a hint of those flavors, and its stored memories, into future concoctions.
If you dare try this salsa (hey! come on, why not?), please let me know, after you get over the shock.
As promised, and right before the year ends, here is a recipe for pickled red onions or cebollas encurtidas or en escabeche, so you can try them with Pollo Pibil. Please do! You will see why it’s no wonder pickled red onion has been Pibil’s faithful and enlightened companion for centuries: they both taste great separately, but blissful when paired together.
Pickled red onions are also a permanent fixture at every single table in Yucatan. As they are mildly spicy, deliciously tangy and surprisingly crunchy they go well with so many things. These past couple weeks I learned first hand why they are such a fabulous pickle to have handy.
Since one of its main ingredients, the bitter orange, is hard to come by around here, I had 16 takes with different bitter orange substitutes. There are well-known versions for substitutes, but I am not crazy about any of them. 16 pickled red onion batches later: I found one I love! It is equal parts grapefruit, orange, lime juice and white distilled vinegar. Without the vinegar it’s not acid enough and the pickle loses its color and crunch, it faints quickly.
But since I am not one to throw away tasty things, those 16 batches found their way into toasted sandwiches, on top of rice and cous cous, along tacos and quesadillas, as a capricious side to enchiladas and scrambled eggs in the morning, sprinkled on refried beans. The last batch, which was destined to complement broiled flank steak a couple nights ago was gone before I finished slicing the meat.
And you will like this: takes 10 minutes to make them and they last weeks in your refrigerator. Just mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl, slice the onions (which some cooks like to quickly blanche in hot water or desflemar before pickling, I don’t because the onion loses that strength that I like, but you can try…), then add one, or why not two, charred banana peppers, let it all sit and get comfortable together, and you are set.
There are banana peppers in many stores in the DC-MD-VA area, but if you can’t find them, just substitute for Jalapeños. They work great as well.
The pickled red onions will be sitting in your refrigerator ready to give a spin to almost anything you may put together, no matter how fast or slow, simple or complicated. I am always amazed at how accommodating salsas and pickles can be.
So for this 2010, aside for hoping you all have a wholesome and sweet year, I hope you can always have a tasty pickled side handy to give you a bit of a spunk, whenever you need one. It has worked for me at times when I have needed some. And when I really need a kick, I leave the pickled onions aside and give that pickled pepper a big bite.
When asked recently whether I was a collector of some sort, I thought of my grandmother’s cabinet that holds hundreds of elephant figurines — more than 60 years’ worth, from many places. And she’s still adding to the lot. So my response was no.
Then a few days later I realized that I am a collector: of foods tasted throughout my life, or at least the memories of them. This is especially true of salsas. I have countless papers scattered on my desk with notes about the names of them, the places I ate them, their ingredients, the cooks who made them and, when generously given, directions on how to re-create them.
When the mood strikes, I search to find that precise note (which may be in a coat pocket, bag or drawer). Or I sit down with eyes closed and try to remember the feel of the sauce.
When all else fails, I make one up.
If you look in my refrigerator, you will find a salsa. That is mainly because my husband is always asking for one but also because salsas can pump up the beauty and richness of any meal. To me, salsas are one of the exceptional elements of Mexican cooking: delicious, accommodating and versatile. Among the many possibilities, we eat salsas on top of rice, beans, potatoes; alongside meats, chicken, seafood and vegetables; spooned inside or outside all sorts of dishes such as tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas; scooped with a piece of toast and spooned straight from the container.
I wouldn’t dare guess how many salsas there are in Mexican cooking as I am sure to be wrong, and the cuisine keeps evolving. But I can safely say that if I were to give you a different salsa to taste each month, my lifetime, however long, wouldn’t give us enough time to cover the choices.
Salsas can be eaten from morning till night, and are known to be especially savored after midnight when the food stands on Mexican streets — and some in Los Angeles, as well — serve their secret-recipe salsas with antojos and quick dishes. The late-night crowds crave them.
Some are made with dozens of ingredients, prepared in laborious ways. Others use a few easy-to-find ingredients and can be assembled in minutes. For me, the latter sound like the perfect salsas for summer.
Three of my no-cook favorites, from my ever-growing and scattered collection, are a raw tomatillo and chipotle salsa, made lush with the addition of avocado and fresh cheese; a luxurious mango salsa with slivers of red onion, jalapeño and chopped cilantro; and a versatile, ancho chili pickled salsa, which keeps in the fridge for months.
If you are so inclined, please leave comments online about the accompanying recipes (or share with me whatever food-related things you tend to gather). I will collect them all.
This article was written for and published by The Washington Post on August 5, 2009 The Washington Post.
This is a versatile basic green tomatillo salsa. It can be drizzled on top of Mexican Antojos, such as Tostadas, Tacos, Quesadillas and Sopes. It can also be used to make Green Enchiladas or Chilaquiles. It can be spooned on top of eggs in the morning, used as a side garnish to grilled meats and as the seasoning to bake some fresh flaky fish in the oven. I could go on and on and on! Here it goes:
