Salsa Redux

We deliberated for months about our honeymoon destination. Did we want to go to Paris, Tuscany, Costa Rica, Japan, or something Caribbean or Mexican? Oh the decisions! Surprisingly, this was the most difficult part of the whole wedding process. Some people fight over seating arrangements, budgets and food. Not us. Our lively debates centered around our honeymoon. "Well, how about Paris?" Then we thought, "Should we go some place new?" And then the bankers in us asked, "what about the Euro exchange rate?" "Well, then how about St. Lucia..." These conversations went on for months. We were paralyzed by our own indecision.

In the end, we chose a gorgeous resort outside of Cancun. A small hotel outside of the city and right on the beach. It would be a great place to unwind after the hectic pace of our wedding preparations and following celebrations. Our resort didn't disappoint - We felt like royalty from the moment we arrived... with no workday worries, we frittered hours away pouring over our novels, sipping margaritas, and stretching out like fat cats on our poolside loungers. We ate like kings noshing on 3 bite fish tacos, indulging on jumbo shrimp cocktails, and throwing back ceviche shooters.



I haven't been blogging much lately or for that long for that matter and so I probably shouldn't be recycling my own recipes, but I absolutely must. Tomatillos are such a farmer's market delight and now they are available in full swing.

We received some this week from our CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) and I dug out the recipe I posted last year. I had the beautiful roasted grape tomatoes* that I made earlier this week and thought I might take my advice and try roasted tomatoes. The resulting recipe brightened the salsa considerably so much so that I couldn't really call it a salsa verde any longer... really it has become a salsa with tomatillos.




1/2 pint of tomatillos (about 5 medium sized)
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes (roasted)
1 small white onion, cut into chunks
3 cloves of garlic - rough chop
1 jalapeno - seeded, chopped finely
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of olive oil

Peel the brown papery husks and wash the tomatillos. Chop the tomatillos roughly.

Heat the olive oil and add onions, garlic and tomatillos. Saute until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes (fresh and roasted), sugar, and salt. Once heated through, take off heat and whiz in a food processor. Pulse it so you still have large chunks.

Refrigerate until cold and serve with nachos.

Makes 2 cups

*I love roasted tomatoes and it's one of the easiest things you can do to add intensity in both colour and flavour to your everyday meals. If cherry/grape tomatoes are available, wash them and tumble them into a roast pan. Sprinkle with salt and pop in a low temperature oven (200 degrees) for ninety minutes or longer until they are wrinkled like plump raisins. If you are using larger tomatoes, slice them thickly. Follow the instructions accordingly.

Arriba Arriba

I love salsa. But then again, who doesn't? I read somewhere that salsa has over taken ketchup as the #1 condiment. Is it any wonder? As a kid, I greedily munched on nachos generously dipped in the large club-size jar of salsa and I thought I was in heaven. I loved the salty crunch of the nachos contrasted by the tangy piquante salsa. Oooh heavenly. I would eat way too many and my mom would get angry when she found me on the floor moaning partially with glee and with some regret for having eaten that one last chip.

When we went to Mexico several years ago, I realized we had not even touched the tip of the iceberg of what Mexican cuisine was or could be. Real mexican food is fresh, clean-tasting, pungent and sweet. It is truly night and day from the food that is passed off as Mexican at home. We enjoyed our Mexican resort holiday although it is not our typical vacation. It was a nice week to get away and sit in the sun and wash off the weariness of a icy February in Toronto. We reclined like scaly lizards poolside sipping on slushy drinks and wondered what we would have at our next meal. Resort food isn't usually something people write home about. However, the food at this resort wasn't bad at all. I squealed with delight with the mounts of guacamole and the hot crispy nachos straight out of the fryer. I live for guac and I could have eaten it all week.

Yesterday during our weekly jaunt to the North Market, we found a half pint of tomatillos for $1. How could I resist? I had seen Tyler Florence make a gorgeous tomatillo sauce for enchilladas this week and I was already inspired. The tomatillo sighting put me over the top.

Salsa Verde
1/2 pint of tomatillos (about 5 medium sized)
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 small white onion, cut into chunks
3 cloves of garlic - rough chop
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of olive oil

Peel the brown papery husks and wash the tomatillos. It's abit sticky so washing them makes it a little more pleasant. I don't know what would happen, but it takes off the dust and dirt from transport. Chop the tomatillos roughly.

Heat the olive oil and add onions, garlic and tomatillos. Saute until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes (I bet if you had extra roasted tomatoes, it would really create a nice depth to the salsa), sugar, and salt. Once heated through, take off heat and whiz in a food processor. Pulse it so you still have large chunks.

Refrigerate until cold and serve with nachos.

Makes 2 cups

It's very addictive. We gobbled this up greedily even though we were stuffed from Sunday supper.