"EVERYDAY" SALSA: SALSA CASERA

Salsa casera (or ranchera) mean house salsa (or ranch salsa) in Spanish. This is the beloved day-to-day homestyle salsa that is so easy to make and tastes great with everything. There are as many varieties of salsa casera as there are Mexican households... everyone makes it ever so slightly differently, depending on personal taste, tradition, chiles available, etc. It's sometimes made with a mix of tomatillos and tomatoes, or with roasted fresh chiles serrano/jalapeño/de arbol/cayenne instead of dried. Sometimes with chiles pequin added to take the heat up a notch, sometimes without cilantro, sometimes with Mexican oregano. However you make it, you can't go wrong with this salsa. It's quite basic, fresh, and herb-y.

Salsa Casera

makes: ~1-1/2 cups

- 1 lb. ripe tomatoes

- 4 cloves garlic

- 5 - 8 chiles de arbol (or cayenne, commonly used in India)

- 1/2 white onion, unpeeled

- 1 large handful cilantro, leaves and tender stems

- 2 tbsp. distilled vinegar

- 1 tbsp. salt

1. Put the onion cut side down and the unpeeled garlic in a pan. Dry-roast on medium until the garlic is softened somewhat, charred in places, and the cut side of the onion is mostly charred. Peel the garlic and onion and place in a food processor jar.
2. Boil water in a pan large enough to hold the tomatoes. Cut a cross on the top (stem side) of the tomatoes and put into the water. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Allow to cool and peel the tomatoes. Transfer to the food processor.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse into a salsa - don't blend into a soup! Adjust salt and lime to taste.
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a week.

HABANERO-SWEET POTATO HOT SAUCE

This spicy, sweet, tangy hot sauce is so addictive you'll find yourself having it with everything! And the colour is so pretty too.

I first had this hot sauce at the incredible Cochon in New Orleans a few weeks ago. And since then I was a bit obsessed. It was so utterly delicious with enough spice, sweetness, and tang to want it over and over, that I had my muffaletta practically doused in it. As a parting gesture, I photographed the ingredients on the label (they sell bottles at the restaurant and also have the same bottles at each table).

Well I came home and couldn't get it out of my mind, so I looked at the photo with the ingredients and created a version of it. I must say this is pretty darn close to the Cochon version, with a bit more spice and a slightly thicker texture so that I can use it as a dip and a spread. And now I always have some in the fridge!

I've made it with sweet potatoes of all colours - white, yellow, orange, and they're all terrific! So use any type of sweet potato that is available to you. And if you don't have apple cider vinegar, use distilled and adjust the sugar to balance the taste.

Habanero-Sweet Potato Hot Sauce

makes: 16 oz./2 cups

- 2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and unpeeled

- 4 habanero peppers, cut into large pieces (remove the seeds from two if you want to tone the spice down a bit)

- 3 cloves garlic, cut into large pieces

- 1/2 white or yellow onion, cut into large pieces

- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

- 1/2 cup distilled vinegar

- 1-1/2 tbsp. sugar

- 1 tsp. salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking tray and bake for 40 - 50 min. until a knife slides easily into the sweet potatoes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
3. In a small pan, bring the distilled vinegar to a simmer. Add the garlic, onion, and habanero and simmer until the onion is mostly softened, 5 - 7 min. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
4. Put the peeled sweet potatoes, vinegar mixture, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt (if using) in a blender jar and blend until smooth. You may need to thin with apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp. at a time, to help blend well.
5. Taste and adjust sugar if needed. Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge for a few weeks.
6. Enjoy with eggs, tamales, sandwiches, burgers, empanadas, steak, chicken, pizza... whatever you please!

TACOS: ZUCCHINI FLOWERS AND FIDDLEHEAD FERNS

Zucchini flowers are most commonly served stuffed and fried. They're delicious that way, but the beautiful colours of the flowers are hidden under the batter and for me, food is about taste and looks. Not fake gimmicky presentations but just the natural good looks of fresh seasonal ingredients. Like the pretty zucchini flowers and ferns in these tacos!

Fiddlehead ferns are the unopened tips of Ostrich ferns that would turn into fronds when they open. They have a very short season in the Spring and don't last too long in the fridge so it's best to get some when you see them in the market (or in the wild if you know how to forage for the right kind of fern), and enjoy them right away, in a day or so at most. Fiddleheads upset some peoples' stomachs but they don't bother me at all. I don't like boiling them because that takes away the texture and taste. So I roast them and they're just perfect!

Zucchini flowers and fiddleheads are quite simple to clean. Zucchini flowers: Remove the pistil and stem from each zucchini flower and gently rinse each flower inside and out. Put the washed flowers on a large dry kitchen towel to soak up water.

Fiddlehead ferns: Remove the outer chaff - brown papery skin - from the ferns and rinse thoroughly. During rinsing remove any remaining chaff and put the washed ferns in a large dry kitchen towel to soak up water. 

These tacos are full of spring flavours and colours! And they go with virtually any salsa, including salsa verde with chiles de arbol, avocado and roasted tomatillo salsa, spicy roasted tomato salsa, guacamole, or even just sliced serranos, avocado, onion, and lime juice.

Tacos: Zucchini Flowers and Fiddlehead Ferns

makes: 6 tacos

- 1/2 cup chipotle cashew cream sauce

- 1/2 cup salsa: salsa verde (recipe here and here) or roasted tomato salsa

- 1 cup fiddlehead ferns, cleaned and washed

- 10 - 12 zucchini flowers, pistils removed and wiped cleaned with a damp towel

- 1 small zucchini, cut into small cubes

- 1/2 medium onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 3 tsp. olive oil

- 2 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. paprika

- 1 tsp. cumin

- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano (Italian or Greek will do if you don't have Mexican)

- 12 small corn tortillas (ask the store for tortillas for tacos, which are smaller)

- 8-10 sprigs cilantro (1/4 cup coarsely chopped)

- 1/4 cup finely shredded purple cabbage (or red or green cabbage)

- 1 lime, cut into wedges

Optional garnishes: finely shredded carrots, sliced avocado, onions, jalapeno, pickled vegetables "en escabeche"

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C. Lightly grease a baking tray or line with parchment paper.
2. Toss the cleaned fern heads with 1 tsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. salt, and paprika. Transfer to the prepared baking tray and roast for 15 min., turning once midway. Remove from the oven.
3. In a pan, heat the remaining 2 tsp. olive oil and add the onion and garlic. Sauté until translucent then add the zucchini, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook till the zucchini is slightly soft and add the zucchini flowers. Stir the flowers in, and sauté for a minute. Turn the heat off.
4. Prep the tacos: Transfer the roasted fern heads and sautéed zucchini and flowers into serving bowls. Arrange the cabbage, cilantro, and any optional garnishes on a platter. Warm the tortillas.
5. Assemble the tacos: Divide the tortillas among plates, stacking 2 per taco. Top with the roasted fern heads and sautéed vegetables, cilantro, and cabbage. Drizzle 1 tbsp. each of the chipotle cashew cream sauce and salsa on each taco.
6. Serve immediately with a wedge of lime, additional salsa, cashew cream sauce, and optional garnishes.

SPICY ROASTED TOMATO AND CHILE SALSA: SALSA QUEMADA

Burnt (roasted) salsa. Or salsa quemada (kay-maada), in Spanish.

If you know me, you know my vast love for Mexican food. It's endless and untiring. Combined with my equally endless and untiring love for spicy sauces and condiments it means you're sure to find a slew of dips, sauces, salsas, and pestos in my fridge at any time! I love making salsas because they're so flavourful and versatile - they go with everything. I usually have a couple of different types in the fridge - they're great when I want to put together a quick rice and bean bowl with roasted vegetables for lunch or a couple of tacos for dinner when I'm famished. 

This salsa, like most salsas, is very easy to make and tastes better the longer it sits. It's great with chips, tacos, on a bowl of beans and rice, roasted vegetables, eggs, steak, chicken, with hot fresh corn tortillas, empanadas, pretty much anything... so dig in!

Spicy Roasted Tomato and Chile Salsa: Salsa Quemada

makes: ~ 2 cups

- 8 chiles de arbol

- 2 chiles guajillos

- 4 - 5 ripe Roma tomatoes

- 1/2 white onion

- 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

- 1/4 bunch cilantro

- 1/2 lime, juiced

- salt, to taste

- 3/4 cup hot water

1. Toast the chiles briefly in a a cast-iron or other skillet over medium-low heat until they're aromatic and slightly change colour. This should only take a minute or less... try not to blacken them — burnt chiles add an unpleasant bitterness to the salsa. Transfer the toasted chiles into a bowl and cover them with hot water. Let them sit while you roast the rest of the vegetables.
2. Turn the heat to medium and put the tomatoes, garlic, and onion (cut side down) into the skillet. Turn the vegetables every few minutes to roast them evenly.
3. Remove the garlic when it has a few brown spots. Remove the onion when it's nicely charred on the cut side, and slightly softened. Let the tomatoes roast until they're soft and blackened in spots. The skin will start to peel and the tomatoes may crack slightly and release some juices. It's ok.
4. Turn off the heat and let the tomatoes cool. Remove any loose or blackened skin - it should come off easily. Peel the garlic, cut the onion into 2 - 3 chunks. Drain the water from the chiles.
5. Add the chiles, tomatoes, garlic, onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice to a blender and pulse until smooth. Adjust salt to taste before serving.
6. Serve at room temperature or store in the fridge for a week. If it lasts that long!

SALSA VERDE WITH CHILES DE ARBOL

Chiles de arbol - fresh and dried - are very similar in appearance to cayenne chiles, which are typically used in Indian cooking, although the flavours of both chiles are somewhat different. Chiles de arbol are a bit woodsy and smokier than cayennes.

As a side note, in Gujarati, dried cayenne chiles are referred to as "vaghaar na marcha" - chiles used for tempering. We also pickle fresh cayenne chiles with mustard or lime, or eat them raw with a meal, sometimes dipped in salt before each bite. If you cannot find chiles de arbol in a store near you, you can use cayenne chiles for this salsa.

This spicy salsa is really easy to make and will no doubt become a regular in your fridge! It's great with chips, on tacos and enchiladas, as a simmer sauce, over baked/grilled meat or fish, with poached eggs, and - as shown above - even as a poaching sauce for eggs (thin it a bit with water first).

You can make it as spicy or mild as you want. To make it spicy, leave the seeds in the chile pods. To make it mild, break the chiles in half and shake out the seeds before roasting. Either way, it's a really delicious sauce!

Salsa Verde with Chiles de Arbol

makes: ~2 cups

- 8 - 10 chiles de arbol
- 5 medium tomatillos, husks removed, and washed well
- 1/2 medium onion (don't chop it)
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 1/4 bunch cilantro (15 - 20 stalks)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 cups water

1. Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. Fill a bowl or lidded container with 1 cup of the water.
2. Remove the stems of the chiles and toast on the skillet, stirring frequently to keep them from burning. Once the chiles smell fragrant and are lightly browned, remove from the heat and transfer to the container of water. Cover and let the chiles soak while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Put the tomatillos, garlic, and onion (cut side down) in the hot skillet and roast, turning once or twice. Once the tomatillos are charred in spots and soft, the garlic is charred in spots, and the cut side of the onion is somewhat blackened, turn off the heat and leave to cool.
4. Peel the garlic, cut the onion and avocado into 2-3 large pieces, and drain the chiles.
5. Add the chiles, tomatillos, peeled garlic, onion, avocado, cilantro, salt, lime juice, and 1/2 cup water to a blender jar. Blend till you have a thick salsa (if you want a thinner salsa, add the other 1/2 cup water). Taste and adjust salt and lime.
6. Store in the fridge up to 3-4 days.

ROASTED TOMATILLO AND AVOCADO SALSA/SAUCE

Variety Mexican food is the spice of life.

It, among a few other cuisines, is comfort food to me. Or hangover food. Or hunger food, or party food, or anytime food. I especially love the thousands of different moles and salsas (sauces). Made with fruits, vegetables, chiles, tomatoes, tomatilloes, jitomates, guajes, seeds, nuts, legumes - the list of combinations is endless! You can pretty much blend anything in a Mexican kitchen and it's a mole or a salsa. Or sometimes a beverage.

Too much fun in the kitchen with all the colours and flavours, but here's an easy one to spice things up. Use this as a salsa, sauce for entomatadas (like enchiladas but in a tomato-based sauce rather than a chile-based sauce), as a salad dressing, over roasted vegetables, tamales, eggs, fish, or chicken, mixed into rice as a side dish, or however else you want! Because you won't be able to stop eating it!

Roasted Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa/Sauce

Servings: makes 3 cups

- 10 medium/12 small tomatillos, papery husk and stem removed, rinsed
- 2 medium/3 small shallots, unpeeled and separated (or 1 small white onion, halved)

- 4 medium/6-8 small cloves garlic, skin on
- 1 serrano pepper

- 1 ripe Reed avocado or 2 Hass avocados
- 1 lime, juiced (or more if you want it really tart)
- 1/2 bunch or more cilantro- 1 tsp sea salt (I use Himalayan salt for everything)

- 1 cast-iron or other heavy skillet - mine's small so I roasted the vegetables in 2 batches

- 1 bowl large enough to fit the roasted vegetables

- 1 lid for the bowl - doesn't have to be air-tight, a plate will do

- blender/food processor

1. In the skillet over medium heat, dry-roast (without using any oil), the tomatillos, garlic, serrano and shallots. If you're using the white onion, place each half cut-side down on the skillet.

2. Roast the vegetables on one side for 5-7 minutes, then turn and roast on the other side for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables have dark char spots.

3. Don't burn the vegetables! They should look like they do in the photo above.

4. If you burn the vegetables, go have a margarita and some salty chips and salsa somewhere nice. Start over with the salsa later.

5. Put the hot dry-roasted vegetables in the bowl and cover with the lid. Let it all sit for 10 minutes or longer, till cool enough to handle.

6. Peel the garlic and shallots/onion.

7. Cut the stem off the serrano pepper and de-seed if you want a mild salsa. I usually halve the pepper lengthwise, and de-seed one half, leave the seeds in the other half because I like a bit of smoky heat.

8. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh.

9. Blend everything including the roasted vegetables, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

10. Blend till the salsa is smooth, not chunky.

11. Adjust to taste... as more lime juice or salt.

12. If you want it spicier, blend in another roasted serrano or half of a raw serrano. Definitely not cayenne or any other dried powdered chile.

Notes:

1. Lemon instead of lime will do in a pinch but lime will give it the fresh tartness rather than the touch of sweetness that lemon imparts to foods.

2. It'll still be delicious so go ahead and use that lemon because you're out of limes.