Latin-American Cuisine

[karadekoolaid Profile]

SALSA!

Not the music, although that´s pretty fantastic. These are the salsas (sauces) you´ll typically find when you ask for tacos, tostadas,empanadas or a barbecue. As soon as we sat down in a restaurant in Mexico City called " Tacos Al Pastor", they brought a tray with five different sauces. A pico de gallo; a coriander mayonnaise with jalapeños, a smoky chilpotle sauce, a salsa toreada and an habanero sauce (not for the faint-hearted).
Salsas appear on the tables, not only in Mexico, but all across South America. Here are some simple recipes to slather on your next Yorkshire pudding... or empanada or taco or burrito.
1) Pico de Gallo
Literally " Chicken feed" - because it looks like the food thrown to the birds. Simple to make and very tasty.
1-2 tomatoes
1 small onion
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and deveined
Coriander leaf
Lime ( or lemon) juice
salt
Dice the tomatoes, onion and jalapeño, and mix with all the other ingredients. Allow to rest for half an hour, so the flavours can blend.
2)Salsa Toreada
2-3 jalapeño or serrano chiles
1 small onion
lime juice
vegetable oil
salt
Pinch of cumin
Grill or toast the chiles and the onion until they´re slightly blackened on the outside. Chop finely and mix with the other ingredients.
3)Salsa Yucateca
This salsa comes from Yucatan, home to the habanero chile.
1 habanero chile
1 medium red onion
salt
Lime juice
Remove the seeds and vein from the habanero - use gloves if possible to avoid getting burned! Finely dice the chile with the red onion and mix with the lime juice and salt. Serve with tacos filled with " Cochinito Pibil" or pulled pork cooked in orange juice.
4) Salsa Macha
30 gms dried red chiles
Oil - about 1/3 cup
2 large garlic cloves
salt
Gently fry the dried red chiles ( you can remove the seeds if you wish) in some of the oil until they darken. Remove from the oil, drain on kitchen towels until cool. Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until well -mixed.
5) Salsa de Pepitas
Pepitas are pumpkin seeds - but you could also use hulled sunflower seeds in this sauce.
125 gms pepitas, hulled
250 gms sour cream
1 small onion
2-3 serrano chiles
2 large sprigs coriander
salt to taste
Lightly toast the seeds in a pan (no oil) until they change colour. Allow to cool, then blend with all the other ingredients until you have a smooth sauce. good with chicken or fish.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I'm off to do the salsa de pepitas. Ta very kindly.
I appear to have everything in, even fresh coriander leaves.

And of course I know pico de gallo, but they all look excellent.

[Amyw Profile]

I love salsas. I make pico de gallo quite a bit , the pumpkin seed one sounds good . I love the freshness and heat of salsa , done well it really livens up any meal

[ZeroCook Profile]

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Next on the list:

Birria De Res Tacos With Queso Oaxaca From Salvador Alamilla
https://food52.com/recipes/84963-birria ... cos-recipe

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Love it! I´m not a meat eater, but I did try some birria in CDMX last year; just a spoonful
my kids love it.

[ZeroCook Profile]

That's right- fish only KDKA?
Octopus Birria?

Another Birria recipe - have never made it so took a look around. Actually found the last recipe confusing as it has several stages, extra marinade quantities and two salsas worth of ingredients all running into each other in one long scroll

This is Gabriela Camara's Birria recipe
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/ho ... ria-recipe

Will also look for Diana Kennedy's recipe and compare.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Gabriela Camara is super-famous and was named in Time magazine in a list of 100 most influential people!
I´ve found that, in general, the more renowned the chef, the more complex and picky the recipe! Must be a fame thing - although I´m pretty sure it´s just minute attention to detail.

[ZeroCook Profile]

Hers is by far the simpler recipe KDKA - the other one is almost impossible to follow!

Speaking of chefs famosos here's a link to a slew of Rick Bayless recipes on his website. Some really good stuff on there. I've made quite a few of his recipes over time. Thoroughly recommend a read.

https://www.rickbayless.com/recipes-fro ... k-bayless/

[karadekoolaid Profile]

ZC - I really like Rick Bayless - he´s not overly complicated and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Mexican cuisine. He also speaks very good Spanish; although his accent is appalling

[ZeroCook Profile]

ZC - I really like Rick Bayless - he´s not overly complicated and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Mexican cuisine. He also speaks very good Spanish; although his accent is appalling

He is good. Not heard him speaking Spanish - sounds like a friend who's lived in Spain donkeys ears.

Doing the Gabriela Camara Birria using a chunk of beef. Marinating overnight and cooking tomorrow.





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[ZeroCook Profile]

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Absolutely fantastically good.
Like going to to the best taqueria in town during lockdown!
Took a 6 hour cook to fall apart. Left out the canela- not a fan of it in dishes with tomatoes. So good that we're having it again today at Mr0's request. Must be that good.

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[karadekoolaid Profile]

Excelentísimo, ZC!
Washed down with a glass or two of Mezcal, I hope...

[ZeroCook Profile]

No, but a cold Becks sin alc just as good