The Salsa Basics and Lessons You Need To Master
Salsa has come a long way (check out this Basic Mexican Salsa). But there is plenty of Salsa basics and lessons you need to know and master if you really want to impress.
Salsa was once the province of humble Tex-Mex eateries, but now salsa has become a mainstay of contemporary American cuisine.
Believe it or no – In 1991, salsa sales actually outstripped those of ketchup.
Mastering the Salsa basics
Originally made with tomatoes, salsa now comes in a myriad of exotic flavours, from mango to papaya. Salsa is a quick, fresh table sauce that originated in Mexico. You really only need five ingredients to make salsa —tomatoes, onions, chillies, lime juice, and cilantro.
However, there are hundreds of different types in Mexico, varying from cook to cook and region to region.
Traditionally, these ingredients were blended in a rough stone mortar called a molcajete with a pestle. Salsas can be simple, spur-of-the-moment affairs. Using simple ingredients like chopped tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños.
Such is pico de gallo (literally, rooster’s beak salsa), which is the traditional accompaniment to fajitas. Others involve roasting the vegetables in a cast-iron griddle called a comal to concentrate their flavour.
Others salsa recipes can include vegetables that have been charred on the grill. Tomatoes can be replaced with tomatillos, which are a green tomatolike fruit in the gooseberry family. You can add fried or toasted dried chillies to give it a fresh taste.
Central Mexico’s Salsa Borracha (drunken salsa), the traditional accompaniment to barbecued goat, contains a vivifying shot of tequila. Other salsas skip the tomatoes and onions, concentrating solely on the flavour of the chillies.
At the end of the day, try what you like with a decent salsa mix.
