A GREAT SALSA MAKES A
BIG IMPRESSION WITH
A LITTLE BITE
Salsas are always as important as entrées or side dishes and have specific uses: simple table, or casera, salsas are used to add last-minute flavor and juiciness to food. Hot salsas always make an appearance, because Mexican cooking is almost never spicy in and of itself—you get to add heat to your own taste, al gusto. Chunky raw fruit and vegetable salsas are so colorful and full of flavor that they can stand alone as botanas (snacks). Dried chiles and fresh chiles are transformed into salsas of incomparable flavor, often used as the savory base for soups and stews, such as carne con chile colorado. At the very peak of sophistication is mole—in appearance just a salsa, but in taste, embodying the culinary history of Mexico.
Salsa in Mexico represents more than just something to eat, though. Salsa is the heart of the cuisine. Because I am such a silly romantic about food, salsas seem to me to hold the story of Mexico—history in a bite. As my friend Ruth Alegria says, you “get” Mexican food when you “get”
salsa—when you understand its role and its importance to the cuisine. You get a sense of Mexico, too: this gorgeous, vivid hybrid of medieval Spain and thousands of years of native American cultures.
Mexico’s cuisine is far more complex and imaginative than that of its closest neighbors. It begins with geography. The country encompasses multiple climate zones from north to south, from snow-capped mountains to searing desert to tropical jungle; from east to west it traverses infinite microclimates, climbing from sea to mountains and descending to sea again—a fertile matrix for botanical and culinary diversity. Further boosting its diverse influences, Mexico has been a crossroads of ancient trade paths from North America to South America for thousands of years. Canoe traders of the Caribbean and Pacific coastlines brought ingredients and ideas to already sophisticated indigenous cultures in the central highlands and along the coasts; the Spanish brought meat, dairy, wheat, and exotic Eastern spices.
Mexico is revolutionary, imaginative, colorful, wildly varied, and hyperregional, though lines have blurred so that different regions, once remote, have flowed into each other, and some previously regional salsas are familiar throughout the country. But still, in the Maya country, you get Mayan salsas and flavors that exactly complement their unique tropical cooking; in Chihuahua, you taste desert heat and flint in salsas made of spicy dried chiles, tailor-made for the vaquero cooking of meat, beans, and cheese. In Veracruz, salsas reflect the hot face of the Caribbean sun and are exactly right for the languid lifestyle and fresh seafood cooking of this region. You always know where you are in Mexico by the salsas set before you. No other country infuses so much variety and flavor into its everyday cooking.
The expectations we have in the United States for what salsa is
supposed to be and do are very different than in Mexico. In Mexico, one
or maybe two salsas might be offered, and their function is simple and precise: add a bit of expected flavor, add some moisture, maybe add some heat to what’s in front of you. You will always see the same kinds of salsa used in the same way—traditional salsas are always served with their time-honored partners. Of course, those traditional Mexican combinations of flavors are perfect: nothing is better with carnitas than salsa verde and onions!
American cooking has no such rules or expectations about eating salsa. Instead, we expect to eat any salsa with chips (virtually unknown in Mexico) while we worship the twin iron laws of escalation (always more, always bigger, always hotter) and overkill (too much, too hot, too crazy). I believe it is important for the cook to understand salsas in their Mexican context, based on their culinary, regional, or cultural settings. Understanding the basics will help you make your salsas taste authentic, even when tweaked, avoiding awkward substitutions and pairings. But don’t let those boundaries dictate what is a “real” salsa or its “proper” use. You will have a lot of creative fun playing with salsas and using them in different ways.
Like an artist’s use of a slash of vivid color, salsa can add un poquito mas: something more—more color, more taste, more vivid punctuation of flavor—to all your cooking, and not just Mexican recipes. That little bit of flavor will take your cooking to the next level.
• All salsas are meant to be eaten with chips: Eating salsa with fried tortilla chips before your meal is common in the United States but almost unknown in Mexico, except in tourist areas.
• All salsas are raging hot: Most salsas have mild or no heat. There will always be a “hot” salsa available, for those who prefer a more piquant flavor.
• Salsas are the same throughout Mexico: There are some shared cooking techniques and ingredients, but salsas are hyper-local, utilizing the local produce, chiles, and herbs and reflecting the season. Part of the fun of traveling in Mexico is discovering the many variations on a type of salsa.
• Salsas are a laboratory where you learn to balance and play with flavor. In time, you will train your own palate. Use my recipes as a guide for seasonings or follow your own instincts!
• If a salsa tastes flat, keep working on it. Don’t be afraid to push all the seasonings—lime, salt, heat. That’s how you learn!
• Fresh salsas “swallow” salt and other seasonings. An hour after a salsa is made, it is a different beast than the one you first tasted. You often need more salt than you think. If you have refrigerated leftovers, always drain, stir, and reseason before serving.
• With one exception, salsa should always be flavor-packed and seasoned when you taste it from a spoon—almost too strong, because you are using small amounts of the salsa on a lot of food. If the salsa isn’t powerful, it will just disappear. The exception is dried chile salsas and moles. For those use less salt than you would expect, because salt can make chiles taste bitter.
ELEMENTS OF SALSA FLAVOR AND BALANCE
Sweet: Tomato, lime, and onion are sweet. Balance with salt and spiciness.
Acid: Acidity is usually provided by tomatillos, but a dash of mild white vinegar, in combination with lime, can bring out the sweetness of fresh salsas, especially fruit salsas. Vinegar is an essential part of hot salsas made from dried chiles, pumping up the flavor without adding bitterness.
Spicy: Fresh chiles are hot and herbal “green” tasting—add lime juice, vinegar, and salt to balance.
Complex: Dried chiles are spicy and have many fruit, berry, tobacco, dry grass, and pepper flavors. Balance with herbs, tomato, onion, and garlic.
Salt: Use sea salt or kosher salt. Fresh salsas and table salsas should be well seasoned. Use less salt in dried chile salsas and moles.
Herbal: Cilantro, epazote, parsley, and local herbs are used in fresh and cooked salsas; black peppercorns, thyme, marjoram, and Mexican oregano are used in cooked recipes. Balance with tomato, onion, garlic, and tomatillo.
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CHILES
Fresh Chiles (hottest to mildest)
1 THAI BIRD CHILE 9 A thin-fleshed chile with many seeds, fruity flavor, and searing heat. (Common)
2 HABANERO 8 A very hot chile with a fruity aftertaste. It will make your lips burn and can affect your sense of taste. Handle with care. (Common)
3 MANZANA 7 TO 8 An unusual chile with coal-black seeds and thick flesh, which needs to be cooked before use. Handle with care. (Rare)
4 SERRANO 6 Narrow and reliably spicy, with a fresh “green” taste and many seeds. Cooking tames its heat. Used for fresh and cooked salsas. (Common)
5 JALAPEÑO 5 A rounded chile, wide at the top. Sometimes medium hot, sometimes almost mild. Used in fresh and cooked salsas; also eaten grilled and pickled. (Common)
6 GÜERO 4 Thin-fleshed and pale yellow. It can be spicy or mild and must be cooked. Excellent stuffing chile; also eaten grilled. (Seasonal)
7 NEW MEXICO 3 A large, long, narrow chile resembling an Anaheim but darker in color, with more heat and better flavor. Sometimes called a Hatch chile. Always used cooked. (Seasonal)
8 POBLANO 3 Large, triangular shape, very dark green, and shiny. Must be cooked. Excellent flavor. Used for stuffing or charred and torn up, for
rajas, or strips. (Common)
9 ANAHEIM OR CALIFORNIA 1 A large, long, narrow chile with a light green color. Always mild. Use this chile to add flavor without heat. (Common)
10 RED BELL PEPPER 0 Thick-fleshed and sweet. Used raw or cooked to add color and flavor to salsas. (Common)
Dried Chiles (hottest to mildest)
1 GHOST (BHUT JOLOKIA) 8 TO 9 The bhut jolokia is used as elephant repellent in India. This chile causes a full body sweat. (Specialty)
2 PEQUÍN OR TEPÍN 8 TO 9 Tiny and extremely hot, this chile is used to make hot salsas and is difficult to find outside of Mexico. (Specialty)
3 MORITA 7 A dried serrano chile, the morita can be very hot, with a fruity aftertaste. Once rare, they are becoming easier to find outside of Mexico. (Specialty)
4 ARBOL 7 Chiles de arbol are the easiest chile to find. Try to purchase them with the stems on—these will be Mexican grown, instead of Asian. (Common)
5 CHIPOTLE 5 Ripe jalapeños are dried (
mora) or dried and smoked (
meco and sometimes
mora).
Mora are wrinkled and dark red;
meco are smooth and brown. Medium heat with some fruitiness. (Common)
6 PUYA 4 About 4 inches long,
puya chiles have a great red color, predictable heat, and are commonly used for salsa roja.
Japones chile is similar but spicier. (Specialty)
7 NEW MEXICO 4 With their deep flavor and noticeable heat, dried New Mexico chiles can be combined with milder chiles for salsas. (Common)
8 GUAJILLO 3 Wine-colored
guajillo chiles have a distinct berry flavor and some heat and are typically used to make enchilada and other chile salsas. (Common)
9 ANCHO 2 A dried poblano chile, the ancho chile has a complex, grassy, tobacco smell and taste, and a red color when cooked. It’s widely used in salsas. (Common)
10 PASILLA 2 Pasillas look very similar to
ancho chiles but have a darker color when cooked and a more coffee and chocolate taste. (Specialty)
11 NEGRO 1 The thin-skinned negro chile has a coffee berry flavor and is typically used in salsas and moles. (Specialty)
12 CALIFORNIA 1 Similar to guajillo chiles but less spicy and flavorful, dried California chiles have no heat. (Common)
FRESH CHILES Because fresh chiles are a natural product, you can count on variations in flavor and heat from day to day (and from chile to chile within a single plant), depending on the season and where the chiles were grown. Since many of the recipes in this book depend on fresh chiles for both flavor and heat, you will learn to adapt the recipes to your personal taste. Important: Always wear disposable gloves when handling any kind of chile.
• If you want flavor but no heat, substitute an Anaheim chile or green bell pepper for the hot chiles in any recipe.
• If you like a little heat, remove the seeds and ribs from hot chiles. You may want to scale down to a less hot chile—for example, drop from a serrano to a jalapeño, or a jalapeño to an Anaheim chile.
• If you like medium heat, keep the seeds and ribs, but add half of the chiles called for in the recipe, then taste. You may decide to add all the chiles.
• If you like your salsa hot, you can add more chiles or even go up the heat scale by adding a little habanero.
DRIED CHILES Many steps are necessary to really bring out the subtle and complex flavor of a dried chile. For best results, don’t skip, skimp, or speed up the process. The purest, best flavor and texture come from grinding the prepared chiles to a silken paste using a metate and mano, a flat stone table and rolling pin akin to a mortar and pestle. This painstaking process seems to slowly and gently emulsify the ingredients, so the chile skin simply vanishes into the salsa and straining is unnecessary. Food processors and blenders work by cutting all the little bits into smaller and smaller pieces, which then remain in the sauce and have to be strained out.
Choosing dried chiles—Fresh dried chiles should
look fresh, with good color; they should be flexible (like raisins or fruit leather) and never dry or broken. They should be clean, not dusty, and have a lovely fruity scent.
Cleaning chiles—Always wear disposable gloves when handling chiles. Remove the stem. With a sharp knife slit one side and open up the chile flat. Remove the seeds and ribs as desired.
Toasting chiles—Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Open up the chile and press flat onto the hot surface with a spatula; turn and press down on the other side. The chile will soften and show small blisters, but it should never, ever be allowed to burn or scorch, as this will make it bitter.
Soaking chiles—Pour hot water over the chiles, either a measured amount specified in the recipe (this is done if you will use the liquid in the recipe) or just enough to cover the chiles. Press the chiles into the water (you may want to weight them with a small plate) and stir occasionally. Too much water will wash away flavor, as will soaking the chiles for too long, so observe the quantities and soaking times in the recipes.
Pureeing chiles—Drain the chiles (reserve the soaking liquid if called for in the recipe) and place the drained chiles in a blender—a food processor does not work as well. Puree, adding as little liquid as possible and stopping and scraping down the sides frequently, until the chile puree is velvety smooth; this may take 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the puree into a bowl and swirl a small amount of the recipe liquid around in the blender to rinse down the sides.
Frying a sauce—In a deep, heavy pot, heat a very small amount of oil over medium heat. Add the chile puree and quickly slap a splatter screen over the pot. Use the screen to protect yourself and your kitchen from chile splats, while you use a flat-bottomed wooden spatula to stir the chile puree as it cooks for about 5 minutes, until it thickens and changes color. You are driving off excess water and further developing the chile flavor. When the puree is well cooked, add the liquid from the recipe and cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes, until the puree is thickened again. Proceed with the recipe directions.
PANTRY INGREDIENTS
Beer—Mexican amber and dark beers have the best flavor for cooking.
Chile con limón—This addictive mixture of dried chiles,
salt, and dried lime tastes great on fruits and vegetables.
Chipotle chiles in adobo—These are sold in 7-ounce, 12-ounce, and 28-ounce cans. Choose a brand that doesn’t slosh around when you shake the can. Freeze leftovers.
Chocolate—Chocolate adds color as well as a bit of flavor to some famous moles, especially mole poblano. Handmade Mexican chocolate is ideal; it can be found in some specialty food shops or online. Mexican drinking chocolate, such as Ibarra brand, or any dark semisweet chocolate will work as well.
Lard—Use fresh lard (semiliquid at room temperature) in these recipes because it adds authentic flavor and a rich texture to the finished salsa or mole. If you make carnitas, save the rendered layer of fat for this purpose, or
purchase a tub of fresh lard at any Mexican grocery. Rendered chicken or duck fat may be used instead. Vegetarians may substitute a neutral-flavored vegetable
oil, but not olive oil.
Mayonnaise—Use an all-natural, extra-thick mayonnaise, such as Hains’.
Nuts and seeds—Purchase shelled raw nuts from a store that turns over its
stock frequently. Peanuts, walnuts, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and sesame seeds are the most commonly used in these recipes.
Oil, vegetable—Any neutral-flavored vegetable oil will do, except olive oil. Olive oil’s flavor doesn’t mesh with the other ingredients typically used.
Salt—Season with a light hand for moles and enchilada sauces, as salt can bring out bitterness in chiles. For fresh salsas, season until the flavors pop. Use a pure, non-iodized salt such as kosher or sea salt.
Soy bacon bits—These can be used as a seasoning, in place of pork products. They add smoky flavor and depth to beans.
Stock—Homemade is always best, but an organic or other high-quality boxed chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth is sure handy. Choose a low-sodium, no-MSG brand and dilute with water by half.
Sugar—Granulated white sugar may be used to balance the more complex moles.
Tequila—Strong, clean-flavored blanco tequila (100 percent agave) can be used to enhance fruit and chile flavors in salsas.
Tomato paste—Used in small amounts, tomato paste adds color, sweetness, and intense flavor to certain salsas.
Tortilla, corn—Yellow corn
tortillas are used to thicken and flavor some salsas.
Vinegar—A basic vinegar such as Heinz white or cider vinegar has character without off tastes. Do not use wine or balsamic vinegars.
Water—The quality of this universal ingredient is important. Whenever possible, use filtered water to remove the taste of chlorine.
Spices should be purchased in small quantities and used quickly. Name-brand premium spices are top quality and are worth the extra money.
Allspice—Whole allspice berries are essential for certain moles.
Anise seed—The very mild licorice flavor of anise seed is used in place of avocado leaf, which has a similar flavor.
Bay leaf—Fresh or dried, bay leaf adds savoriness to broths and beans.
Black peppercorn—Use whole
black peppercorns rather than preground pepper.
Cinnamon—Mexican cooking calls for true Ceylon cinnamon, which is sold in quills of paper-thin, crumbly bark that has a soft, mild flavor. Cassia bark is thick, hard, and much stronger in flavor; use half as much.
Clove—Whole
cloves are best, and a little goes a long way.
Coriander seed—Cilantro seed (coriander) has a flowery, herbal flavor.
Crushed red pepper flakes—Chiles de arbol ground into spicy flakes.
Cumin—Cumin is more often used in the northern states of Mexico. You may toast cumin seeds and grind them fresh or buy good-quality ground cumin.
Marjoram—Marjoram is floral and a bit sweet. It is used in cooking throughout Mexico, alongside
Mexican oregano, for which it may be substituted.
Mexican oregano—Mild and sweet, Mexican oregano is available dried and whole. Look for it in the Latin foods section of the supermarket. If you cannot find it, substitute marjoram.
Avocado—California or Mexican Hass
avocados have great flavor and a high oil content. They can be fully ripened in a paper bag. They are ready to use when yielding to the touch.
Cabbage—Green cabbage is preferable to lettuce on tacos: it has better crunch and flavor, and it never wilts. Shred it, not too finely, and keep chilled until ready to use.
Cactus pear—Cactus fruit (
tuna) is full of rock-hard tiny seeds, but the flavor is something very special. Cactus fruits may be used ripe; they taste like melon. Green cactus pears taste just like the cactus paddles (nopales).
Xoconostle are a special variety of cactus fruit, extra sweet, with a lovely color.
Chiles, fresh and dried—Everything that grows tastes of where it is grown. Since chiles are the basis of all the recipes in this book, for best results it only makes sense to source and use good-quality Mexican-grown chiles.
Certain kinds of chiles may look similar but are not interchangeable; both flavor and color will vary in the finished salsa. For a visual guide to chiles, see
this pageCitrus—Tiny Mexican
limes are used everywhere, for everything. All kinds of fresh foods love lime, as well as lemon,
orange, and sour orange.
Corn—Yellow corn has the best flavor. Supersweet varieties are a little too sweet for use in salsas.
Cucumber—Either English or field
cucumbers will work. Peel and seed before dicing.
Fruit—Fruit in Mexico is always ripe and delicious, and that’s what you want to buy. It should smell fragrant. Fruit in season is always best.
Garlic—Buy whole heads of domestic garlic, store them in a covered container, and pop off cloves as you need them. Many salsa recipes roast the garlic right in its peel. Avoid imported Asian garlic and, especially, minced garlic in jars.
Jicama—Jicama root is juicy and crunchy. Use a serrated peeler to remove the tough outer skin before dicing or cutting into strips. The combination of jicama, lime juice, and chile con limón is addictive!
Mango—Buy the smaller, bean-shaped Manila
mangoes, if available.
Nopales—Beavertail cactus paddles, or nopales, are usually sold cleaned of their spines, and may be found diced or in strips (nopalitos). The cactus should be firm and not slimy.
Onion—Mexican cooks use white
onions exclusively, for both fresh and cooked salsas. The sweet pungency of onion is an essential element of true Mexican flavor. To temper their strength, diced onions can be rinsed under cold running water. If white onions are not available, red onion can be substituted.
Radish—Peppery
radishes are added to salsas or just eaten as a palate cleanser alongside tacos.
Tomatillo—An essential component of many salsas,
tomatillos look like small, hard green
tomatoes wrapped in a husk. They have a tart flavor that works perfectly with chiles and
herbs. Buy tomatillos that are about 1½ inches to 2 inches in diameter; the big ones are mealy and tasteless. Field tomatillos (tomatillos de milpa) are the size of marbles and have a purple-black cast to their skin. They are available seasonally.
Tomato—Roma or plum tomatoes are the best choice for fresh and cooked salsas; they have good flavor; firm, dry flesh; and few seeds. You may substitute beefsteak or slicing tomatoes, but be sure to squeeze out all the seeds and let the diced tomato drain for a short time before mixing it with the other salsa ingredients.
Herbs are used by the handful for salsa verde and pipian, and make an appearance in many other salsas. Store bunches of fresh herbs upright in a container with a small amount of water, loosely covered with a plastic bag, in the refrigerator.
Cilantro—The flavor of this herb is green and flowery when fresh and deeply herbal when cooked.
Epazote—This herb has a unique, pungent flavor something like mint and something like oregano. It is always cooked with black beans and is an essential element of true Mexican flavor.
Marjoram—Sweet, floral, and herbal, marjoram is used in cooked salsas and some moles.
Parsley, flat-leaf—This variety of parsley stands in for wild greens in mole verde and pipian.
Thyme—Savory and strong, thyme is used in cooked salsas and some moles.
Char—Blackening vegetables to add a wonderful smoky flavor. There are two main methods. The first is to follow the directions for dry roasting, below, but turn the heat on high and allow the vegetables to blacken on one side before turning them to cook on the other side.
The second method is used mainly to remove the skin from peppers, while at the same time half cooking them. Place the washed chiles directly on a gas burner on an outdoor grill, or under a very hot broiler. Once the skin is blackened, turn the chile until all sides are blistered. Wrap the chile in a paper towel and allow it to cool, then rub off the skin and remove the seeds and stem.
Dice—Cutting an ingredient into cubes of an even, uniform size. This is not chopping. My favored dice size for salsas is about ⅜ inch. Practice, practice, practice.
Dry roast—A stove-top method of slowly cooking vegetables to mellow, rich sweetness. Wash and dry the vegetables, but leave them whole. Line a heavy skillet with foil and heat over medium-high heat. Set the vegetables directly into the pan and cook slowly, turning occasionally, until softened. Lift the foil out of the pan and allow the vegetables to cool.
Mashing, crushing—Roughly breaking down an ingredient (such as avocado) into a chunky paste, often using a tool such as a wooden spoon or masher.
Mince—Finely chopping an ingredient into very small pieces, so it melts into the other ingredients.
Puree—Processing an ingredient in a blender until perfectly smooth, scraping down the sides several times. For the most concentrated flavor, use as little liquid as possible when pureeing.
Toast—Gently cooking an ingredient in a dry pan to intensify the flavors. Dried chiles are usually toasted before soaking (for
directions). Nuts, seeds, and whole spices such as black peppercorns and cloves are usually toasted to intensify their flavors before grinding. To toast, heat a small pan over medium-low heat. When it is hot, add the ingredients to be toasted. Shake and stir spices until fragrant, then immediately transfer to a plate to cool completely before grinding. Toast nuts and seeds until pale golden in color, shaking and stirring constantly, and when done, pour onto a plate to cool.
Cooking is not merely recipes. Recipes, after all, are just words on a piece of paper. Cooking is really about mastering a few simple skills and techniques, which (fortunately) are easy and fun to learn. Salsas and Moles is designed to teach you essential Mexican cooking techniques and one very important skill: how to introduce and balance big flavors to create sensational effects.
In salsas, flavor is everything. Flavor comes from choosing great ingre-dients and handling them correctly. For the best-tasting, most authentic results, remember that the simpler the recipe, the more important the technique is. There are no shortcuts in technique!
With practice, your confidence will grow. With experience, you will become better at enhancing the flavor of your salsas with judicious seasoning. Then you will start exploring new combinations of your own creation. You won’t need my recipes anymore, because your cooking skills will take you anywhere you want to go.
Within the book, recipes are grouped by use (Classic Table Salsas, Hot Salsas, Salsas for Tacos) or in a looser sense, by a class of ingredients (Mole and Enchilada Sauces, Chunky Salsas and Botanas). In each chapter, you will be introduced to the most important techniques (such as charring or toasting) and learn each salsa’s traditional use, along with serving suggestions. There are no entrée recipes. Salsa experts won’t have any problem coming up with food to put their salsa on, because the salsa makes the meal.
