Cocina Mexicana - Learning to cook Mexican III

(Sopes with salsa verde)
This third instalment of our Mexican Cooking Extravaganza will see the introduction of salsas - sauces, for those not versed in Spanish (or modern cooking). It is a common misconception that Mexican food is spicy - it can be, of course, but it isn't necessarily all the time. In fact, the families I stayed with when living in Mexico cooked very few dishes with hot chilli, instead, they would add salsas to their liking once the food was on the table. And when they did, like for my beloved "chiles rellenos" which are a bit hit and miss in terms of just how spicy they are, they'd let me taste it first - if it was mild, I'd pass it on to them, if it was spicy, I'd have to eat it. But even if you can't stand the heat, you'll easily get by in Mexico!
Sauces are many and varied and wherever you go, people will have a tray of different ones on the side board of their dining room - using different kinds of chillies, they vary in heat* (jalapeños, for instance, are reasonably mild whereas habaneros are definitely nothing for the faint-hearted) and flavour, some are smoked, some or not, some contain just chile, others are based on tomato... the list is endless. But the best salsas are obviously those that are home-made and a bit more elaborate than the ones you buy in the grocery store.
When you go to a good taquería, you'll have a choice of freshly-made salsas to accompany your tacos. We prepared the most common ones for our introduction to Mexican Cooking the other day:

Guacamole has celebrated a veritable culinary crusade, but sadly become bastardised a lot of times. It is really hard to come by a good one and buying it ready-made (or, worse still, using the omnipresent OEP sachets) is not a good idea for obvious reasons. For a dummies guide to guacamole, here are some tips on how to handle your avocados:
Three handy tips for a successful relationship with your avocado:
1) If your avocados are not ripe, wrap them in newspaper. (Don't expect them to be ripe and ready in a matter of minutes, though, the Mexicans don't insist on "mañana" for no reason)
2) If you want to speed up the ripening process even more, put a banana next to them. (It still will need a good day or longer, depending on how ripe it is to start with)
3) To keep the guacamole from turning brown, don't throw the stone away, but leave it in the bowl with the guacamole - old wife's tale or not, it's done the trick for me every time.

(photo courtesy of Cooksister!)
Pico de Gallo (more commonly known as Salsa Mexicana, as everything carrying the name "mexicano/a" will consist of something green, white and red like the Mexican flag) is a fresh sauce based on tomatoes, onion, chile jalapeño and generous amounts of fresh coriander, seasoned with lime juice. The ingredients are raw, but it doesn't hurt to prepare the salsa ahead for the flavours to infuse. This sauce is mainly used as is, simply added onto a taco or enjoyed with nachos (tortilla chips baked in the oven with grated cheese), rather than being used in cooking.

Another favourite of mine is Salsa Chipotle - I love chipotle chillies for their rich and smokey flavour - very addictive! This type of chilli is also more fiery than the jalapeño, so care must be taken by novices of spicy food. This sauce is very smooth and uses tomatoes and lime juice, but can be used for cooking as well as a condiment for tacos. The simplest way is to use tinned chipotle, which is juicy and gorgeous!

Salsa Verde (main photo, used on sopes) on the other hand, is a cooked sauce. Its base are "tomatillos" (note that in Mexico,  "tomate" always refers to this green, husked variety, a member of the gooseberry family, hence the name "physalis philadelphica", whereas a common tomato is called "jitomate") and they are cooked with garlic and chile jalapeño or serrano, then blended and seasoned with fresh coriander. The green sauce can also be consumed as is, on tacos, sopes, flautas etc, but it is also often added to cooked dishes - like chicken breasts in salsa verde or chilaquiles, a sort of lasagna made of stale, fried tortillas interlaces with cheese... the most successful hangover cure ever invented!

* If you want to find out more about the different varieties of chillies and their heat score, refer to the following entry on wikipedia. Also refer to this article for more on Mexican Cuisine. If you're after a cookbook for all things Mexican, with good explanations of the ingredients used, I can recommend Diana Kennedy's From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients. Yes, I know, she's English - but it's the best introduction to Mexican food I have come across as it covers all the basics.

Guacamole
(Recipe Jo Wagner)

2 medium avocados (ripe)
1 shallot (finely chopped or crushed)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
½ - 1 finely chopped green chilli (seed it first if you can't stand the heat!)
1 medium tomato (finely diced)
juice of 1 lime
1 handful coriander leaves (chopped)

Cut through the avocados around the seed, scoop the flesh into a bowl and reserve the stones for later. Mash the flesh up with a fork, mix with the lime juice and combine with all the other ingredients. Keep the guacamole in the bowl with the avocado stone, to prevent it from going  brown.

Salsa Verde (Green Sauce)
(Recipe Xochitl Ireland)

500 g Tomatillos (green tomatoes in husk)
1-2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1-2 jalapeño chillies (depending on how hot you like it)
1 handful fresh coriander (chopped)

Remove husks from the tomatillos and wash to remove any stickiness. Boil the tomatillos and garlic in a pot, deep enough to cover them completely, for roughly 15 minutes or until the tomatillos change colour slightly. Put the tomatillos, garlic, jalapeño  and half of the chopped onion in a blender or food processor. Blitz until well blended. A little water can be added if the salsa is too thick for your liking. Pour into a bowl and stir in the cilantro and remaining onion.

Chipotle Salsa
(Recipe Xochitl Ireland)

10 chipotle chillies in adobo (deseeded and chopped)
5-6 tomatoes (excess juice drained and tomatoes chopped)
juice of 4-5 limes
½ red onion (finely chopped)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. More of each of the ingredients can be added to tailor the salsa to your liking.

Salsa Mexicana (Pico de Gallo)
(Recipe Jo Wagner)

6 medium tomatoes (diced)
1 medium onion (finely diced)
2 fresh serrano or jalapeño chillies (seeded and finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
Salt to taste
Juice of 1-2 limes, to taste
1 handful fresh coriander (chopped)

Combine all ingredients (except the coriander) in a bowl, mix through thoroughly and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Stir in coriander just before serving.
(Do not be tempted to use your magimix or other kitchen aid for the chopping: the salsa will become far too runny and lose all its crunch! Remember you're making salsa, not tomato puree ;-))

Comments

[Scott at Real Epicurean]

This is easily one of the most interesting series of posts I've seen all year.

I love Mexican food, whether it's fresh salsas and guacamole, or burritos and fajitas, or even a turkey mole.

More, please!

[Bonnie]

Thanks for this wonderful series, Johanna, it's been excellent and is a great resource. I just wanted to note that I found that a pico de gallo was very family dependant and each family had its own recipe and could vary greatly. For example, in some families a pico de gallo could mean a chunk of corn meal that had been fried and served on the side of the plate. More often than not, though - it was exactly as you describe.

[doodles]

good to see that Mexican food is coming alive in England. Your series is quite good. We recently did a blog on a very unique Guacamole that you may be interested in trying.

Great blog will definitely return.

[doodles]

forgot...http://pbetouffee.blogspot.com/2006/10/no-more-calls-we-have-winner.html

[shuna fish lydon]

Johanna--

You are out doing yourself!

I have a feeling that this is is your M.O. though, even after meeting you once.

At 6 pm your time on October 11 I will be posting the photos I have from that day. Let me know if you are going to write part 4 or 5... so I can get those links in there too.

Thank you again for a delightful, informative and DELICIOUS day!

[Karina]

Oh yes. Now you're talking. Bring it on!

[johanna]

scott, i'll have to pass on the mole, we'll be making this for the "advanced" session some time ;-)

bonnie - that's a very interesting version of pico de gallo indeed. in fact, i had never heard that name before (living in the south of Mexicao, we called it salsa mexicana), pero in the north, pico de gallo seems to prevail...

doodles, will definitely be trying your version as well, although, as with most things, i am not really one to follow recipes, but just use what's on hand!

shuna, i shall be posting parts 4 and 5 very soon, probably this week, and will send you the links as soon as they're published... thanks for linking to them!

karina, i thought this would be right down your alley! it might not be the killer-guac you were describing, but just you wait for the rajas con queso and chiles rellenos!

[Pille]

I was taught the leave-avocado-stone-in-your-guacamole by some Colombian guys´back in 2000, and they had obviously learnt this from their moms. Since then I've used this trick myself, and it does work indeed:)

[Jeanne]

Aaaah, happy memories of a great day. I think that salsas were probably the biggest eye-opener for me when I went to Mexico. They were just a million miles removed from what passes for "salsa" outside Mexico and the flavours intensity of the flavours was amazing.

[Subhash Nandwani]

Wow, thanks for this great site, there are too many mouth watering dishes in it,I like most of them. I love this site.

With Warm Regards,
Sunny India

[José]

Hi everybody,

Regarding Guacamole, as long as you squeeze some lime/lemon juice in the Guacamole, it won't oxidize and turn dark. In Guadalajara México it is made with mashed avocados, diced onion, diced tomato, diced serrano chiles, chopped cilantro, lime/lemon juice. Some people do a variation by adding a bit of extra virgin olive oil. No garlic at all though.

And regarding Pico de Gallo, in Guadalajara, Pico de Gallo is a salad made with slices of peeled oranges, and very thin slices of jicama( I don't know how it is called elsewhere) and sliced cucumber, drizzled with sea salt, chile powder and lime juice. I hope this helps, I am Mexican and I have eaten this things all my life.

Best Regards

José