I promised you in my salsa post that I would try to get as
many recipes out of my mom as possible to put on the blog, but I quickly realized
that’s a lost cause. The woman
just doesn’t use recipes, she uses whatever ingredients are at hand, and it
changes constantly! I found myself following her around with a notepad trying
to take diligent notes, but the second I turned my head she changed things up
on me. So I gave up note taking
and just enjoyed her company and simply tried to pay attention to her
techniques instead.
I did, however, find out one of her biggest cooking secrets
and managed to get her to reveal two more salsa recipes that I am posting
here. The secret to, well, probably
all of her recipes is simple… bouillon cubes!
Yes, I am very serious. The woman puts bouillon into almost everything (soups, meat
rubs, boiling water, if she’s cooking, there’s likely bouillon in it)! Admittedly I did not stock any bouillon in
my house before she came to visit, and now I have over a years supply thanks to
mom. Yes, my mom wouldn’t leave
until I was sufficiently supplied with enough bouillon to feed an army. So now that you know her secret, now
let’s move on to the salsas.
Yolanda’s Salsa Bar (why Yolanda? Well because that’s my
mom’s name)
Our family’s standard salsa is posted here, but these other
two are becoming regulars and are requested by friends anytime my mom
visits.
Revenge Salsa ... otherwise known as Chipotle Garlic Salsa
(this
was cleverly named by my sister and by reading the ingredients it’s not hard to
understand why)
Ingredients:
- The cloves of 1 entire garlic bulb (yes the entire thing), skin removed, smashed but dicing is
not necessary
- 1 whole bunch of cilantro (or 1 large handful)
- ½ can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (about 4 peppers),
recommended brand Embasa, (7 oz can)*
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- 1 ½ (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 bouillon cube
- Juice of ½ lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients into the blender and pulse until the salsa looks
like a paste. Pour into serving dish and eat at your own risk.
*If you want the
salsa more mild, use less chipotle peppers. If you are up for the challenge try
using the whole can of chipotles.
We used 4 peppers in this recipe.
My sister named the salsa revenge… well… you can pretty much figure it out. I mean, look at how much garlic and chipotle are in the recipe! The scary thing is that it is addictively good, and not as spicy as it looks. Plus, if you have leftovers it makes for an excellent marinade for chicken (and no the chicken does not come out spicy).
Tomatillo and Rosted Green Chile Salsa
Ingredients:
- 10 tomatillos
- ½ bouillon cube
- Juice of ½ a lime
- 1 handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch of green onion (all of the white part and 1 inch of the green part), chopped
- 1 small handful roasted green chiles (about ½ cup)
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon good sea salt or finishing salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1 avocado, chopped
Directions: Boil the tomatillos in water with the bouillon cube for about 25 minutes, or until soft. Let tomatillos cool enough to peel the husk/skin off, and discard the skin. Add tomatillos to a blender along with remaining ingredients (except the avocado). Pulse until blended together, but not pureed like a soup (you still want a few chunks). Pour into serving dish and add the chunks of avocado and mix into the salsa.
There’s nothing spicy about this salsa so it is a nice cooling alternative to the revenge salsa.
There you have it. My mom’s standard salsa bar. My sisters and I joke that someday we will get enough recipes out of our mother to make a cookbook… but until then, these blog posts will have to do. I love you mama!
Mama, teaching me her cooking secrets
mmmmmmmmmmm tasty looking! Love the adobo.
Posted by: Dan | November 11, 2010 at 03:12 PM