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SALSAS, TORTILLAS, AND MORE
(Salsas, Tortillas y Mas)
Salsas are the heart and soul of Mexican cooking. Can you imagine a hot pile of tortilla chips, fresh from the fryer, with nothing to dip them in? And think of how naked the tray of enchiladas would be without a fine coat of red or green sauce to cover them.
The Mexican salsa has at its heart the chile pepper. The variety and number of chiles found in this great land is fantastic. There are jalapeños, serranos, habaneros, poblanos, pasillas, piquíns, moritas, mulatos, cascabels, guajillos, and so on and so forth. These chiles are ground in a molcajete with other ingredients to make the colorful varieties of sauces found in Mexican cuisine.
There is an endless variety of sauces that can be made from spicy peppers, red ripe tomatoes, fine green tomatillos, or the wonderful aromatic combination of spices that makes up the moles that grace our tables. Every region, each town, and all families have such wonderful varieties of their own that I could fill a whole book on just the joyful salsa combinations. But since I want to share other flavors and recipes with you, I’ve overstuffed this chapter with some basics like the Chunky Avocado Dip or Roasted Tomatillo Salsa—dips and salsas you can whip up for a weeknight dinner or double or triple to amp up any celebration.
The most basic of Mexican salsas includes tomatoes, onions, garlic, chiles, cilantro, and a bit of lime, as in the “Rooster’s Beak” Salsa. Inspired by the tempting piles of ripe tomatoes at my folks’ market, I’ve made endless varieties of this as an after-school snack.
I’ve also included more unusual sauces, like the Herbed Pumpkin Seed Mole, that can add excitement to any kind of meat or fish or can be poured over a plate of cheese enchiladas. The Achiote Paste can be rubbed on pork, fish, chicken, or even tofu to dress them up with a fiery red coating.
This chapter is a primer to help you get started in the cooking of Mexican dishes. The great thing about sauces is that they are very forgiving. So feel free to add your own flair and adjust things to your own tastes. Add an extra serrano pepper or two to kick up the heat a bit, or tone down the fire if you have a delicate palate. Adjust with your favorite ingredient, try something unusual, and make your own family favorite. Double or triple a recipe to share jars with friends and neighbors.
Then, warm up some tortillas or cook up some tortilla chips, kick back, and enjoy.
Here’s a handy little chart with heat-indicating Scoville Units (developed by chemist Wilbur Scoville in 1912), so that you can choose your peppers wisely:
| Pepper Varieties | Heat Rating | Scoville Unit Range |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet bell, sweet banana, pimiento | 0 | 0 (negligible) |
| Cherry, New Mexico, pepperoncini, Sonora | 1 | 100-1,000 |
| Anaheim, ancho, pasilla, Española, New Mexico, mulato | 2 | 1,000-1,500 |
| Cascabel, Sandia | 3 | 1,500-2,500 |
| Jalapeño, poblano, chipotle, mirasol, guajillo | 4 | 2,500-5,000 |
| Serrano, hot wax, Hidalgo, manzano | 5 | 5,000-15,000 |
| Chile de arbol | 6 | 15,000-30,000 |
| Cayenne, pequín, aji, Tabasco | 7 | 30,000-50,000 |
| Thai, chiltepín, santaka, yatsafusa | 8 | 50,000-100,000 |
| Orange habanero, Scotch bonnet, Jamaican hot, Caribbean red | 9 | 100,000-350,000 |
| Red savina habanero, chocolate habanero, Indian Tezpur | 10 | 350,000 and up |
