92 replies to this topic

[Jaymes]

Mexican limes are the same as Key limes??

Yep.

[woodburner]

Mexican limes are the same as Key limes??

Yep.

Do you wish to add anything else, before I put this recipe under fire?

It looks good, but every now and again, someone adds or deletes an important ingredient or procedure.

There will be pictures and tasters.

Thanks for all of your input.

woodburner

[Mabelline]

Jaymes, you brought up garlic salt, and I gotta say that every tia I ever knew in Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas uses it. And I believe it's a big component of that real Mexican Taste that's way different from fresh, especially the colorado you wrote. Don't you?

Edited by Mabelline, 26 February 2004 - 10:48 PM.

[Jaymes]

Jaymes, you brought up garlic salt, and I gotta say that every tia I ever knew in Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas uses it. And I believe it's a big component of that real Mexican Taste that's way different from fresh, especially the colorado you wrote. Don't you?

Well, I don't know... I do know that when I visit friends in Mexico, it seems to be a much-used ingredient. Of course, just like us, most of them lead busy lives and appreciate shortcuts. My Queretaro friend makes her chilaquiles with Fritos in her microwave, and shops at the new Walmart (and is thrilled to have it). I don't think that makes her "not Mexican."

In my salsa, I prefer the flavor of the garlic salt to uncooked fresh garlic, which has a "raw" taste to me.

But as always, to each his own.

Edited by Jaymes, 27 February 2004 - 06:00 PM.

[Mabelline]

Yep, me too, especially in a quick-cooked sauce like that.


I reckon in 20 years Walmart will govern the world.

Edited by Mabelline, 26 February 2004 - 11:01 PM.

[rancho_gordo]

But as always, to each his own.

Amen to that.

In my travels and eating in Mexico, I find that every "rule" is broken somewhere and by someone. And that just the smallest adjustments make a similar dish brand new.

I tend to pan roast the chiles and garlic in my comal, the garlic obviously taking longer than the chiles. It doesn't taste so raw and almost adds a nutty or buttery flavor, like roasted garlic. I pan roast it with the skin on and peel it once it's cooled. I also prefer serranos to jalapeños, but that's just a preference. Sometimes I like to use those fat guero (sp) chiles instead.

I think a good strong, fast-heating comal is essential- for tortillas to chiles to toasting the oregano. Oh yeah, I add toasted oregano to a lot of my salsa.

But I think starting with Jaymes' basic recipe and adding baby steps and learining the nuances of each of the new additions is a clever idea. I can't imagine it will taste anything like "supermarket salsa" unless you use really crappy tomatoes or have access to lots of disgusting chemicals.

[Mabelline]

Gordo, I agree about the comal, and you probably won't find this as weird as some folks will, but the best one I've ever owned was a modified disk (from the farm equipment disk) and the edge was rung around with 1/4" rod. It was spectacular. They make a stellar tripas for cooking over a propane burner,too, with a three-legged stand under them.

[rancho_gordo]

Can you post a photo? That sounds wild!

[SobaAddict70]

Just because something is made with a modern convenience like garlic salt doesn't make it any less "authentic" in my eyes.

The fact that Jaymes' salsa is made using a blender instead of a mortar and pestle shouldn't be an issue. It sounds authentic to me, right down to the technique behind the recipe (i.e., roasting the jalapenos over an open flame in order to develop a specific flavor component for the salsa).


Soba

[Lisa J]

rancho_gordo

can you please explain what a "comal" is, or if possible provide a photo? never heard the term before and i am very curious. thanks

[Msk]

Please let me elaborate having made this last night. This recipe tastes nothing llike any commercially made salsa I have ever had. I love salsa and have tried dozens of brands in an effort to find a really good one that rivals the ones I come across in good mexican restaurants.

In my first attempt, I surpassed the quality of any canned/jarred salsa I have ever had. I have no doubt that with some experimentation this recipe will evolve into many great variations.

I used high quality San Marzano-style tomatoes, the kind I use to make homemade Italian sauce, so I guess the Parmalat ones would work great.

I even gave my wife the juice from the tomatoes as Jaymes suggested and my wife said it was the best she has had in a long while (she loves the stuff)!

Msk

[rancho_gordo]

can you please explain what a "comal" is, or if possible provide a photo?  never heard the term before and i am very curious.  thanks

Lookie here! I actually have a pic already! Mine is made of steel (I think, as it rusts if I'm not careful). A cast iron skillet is fine but it takes so long to heat up. I know in Mexico, they're sometimes ceramic.



I think it's basically a griddle with low or no sides.

Please don't judge my housekeeping. Please!

(Edited for typos. Twice!)

Edited by rancho_gordo, 27 February 2004 - 08:48 AM.

[Mabelline]

Gordo, I no longer have that one,or the tripas, they were part of my previous life in Texas. But you are in farming country, and you know how they have to replace worn-out disks on equipment. Go to a farm, there's probably a pile of them laying around. You simply fill in the center hole with a patch of steel, 1/8, or 1/4, grind it down smooth, its kind of dish-shaped, so you may want to heat and flatten it. Then you just tack a piece of 1/4 round rod around it. You can bend the 1/4round by hand as long as the disc is secured, after your first weld. It works so good!! As soon as my SO and I get out to our farm, it shall be one of my first projects. Then I shall post, okay? Maybe the whole process, hmm. Think folks would like to see.?

[Jaymes]

In my first attempt, I surpassed the quality of any canned/jarred salsa I have ever had. I have no doubt that with some experimentation this recipe will evolve into many great variations.

Thanks. Sniff.

[Lisa J]

rancho_gordo - thanks for posting the photo!

and jaymes thanks for sharing the recipe. i am going to try it (following your exact steps). i am in france and good mexican food is hard to find, so i love the idea of making it myself. i used to live in california and i miss the supermercados... fortunately your recipe has ingredients that are easy to find.

lisa


edited for clarity

Edited by Lisa J, 27 February 2004 - 09:25 AM.

[slbunge]

Jaymes, you brought up garlic salt, and I gotta say that every tia I ever knew in Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas uses it. And I believe it's a big component of that real Mexican Taste that's way different from fresh, especially the colorado you wrote.

Wow. I am crazy about the very simple, cooked, tomato-based salsa at a mexican restaurant here in Milwaukee. There has always been something different about it, compared to my feeble attempts at home. I'm now imagining that it may be garlic salt. There isn't a flavor as forward as what you get with fresh garlic, but my recollection of the flavor of garlic salt sort of fits.

I'm inspired. Perhaps tomorrow I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

[Lyle]

Just to note the obvious, these tomato salsas freeze well. I found that out some time ago when I got my ratios all wrong, adjusted with more tomato...ended up with a half-gallon of the stuff.

I suppose I could have been philanthropic and gifted it so some neighbors.

Nah.

[Jaymes]

fortunately your recipe has ingredients that are easy to find.

Cool. What fresh chiles can you get in France? Jalapenos? Serranos?

[rancho_gordo]

As soon as my SO and I get out to our farm, it shall be one of my first projects. Then I shall post, okay? Maybe the whole process, hmm. Think folks would like to see.?

Oh, yes! I love clever homemade things like this!

[Jaymes]

In Mexico, you often can smell things roasting on large comals as you walk through the towns. Some of my favorite restaurants feature large ceramic ones, with various ingredients cooking in small piles arranged around on the disks. Frequently they are the entire focus of the restaurant, kind of like when you go to a pizza place and they make a big show of preparing the pizza in front of your eyes. You can stand right there and watch the stuff cooking on the comal. They're basically just flat, round grills/griddles, although sometimes you do see them gently concave.

Those large ceramic ones don't transport well, though, and I've tried to bring back some of the smaller ones with varying degrees of success.

You can, however, order smaller cast iron ones from mexgrocer.com.

Edited by Jaymes, 27 February 2004 - 01:35 PM.

[rancho_gordo]

Those large ceramic ones don't transport well, though, and I've tried to bring back even some of the smaller ones with varying degrees of success.

I've never known anyone who actually used one. Are the differences great? I imagine they break even after you get them home, just from use. But I do really want one. You're lucky!!! Or determined!

I have a really nice cazuela from somewhere in central America but I just use it for serving as I'm too afriad I'll break it putting it right on the gas flame.

[Jaymes]

I've never known anyone who actually used one.

And I did, too. "Use one." But sadly, not for cooking.

You see, in my travels, I have primarily lived in homes with electric stoves. And I didn't want to set a comal directly on the burners. So my plan was to get one of those rings that they sell in Asian stores -- to use with a wok.

One thing and another, and I never got around to it, so never actually cooked in the comal. It was just easier to grab my cast-iron skillet.

But I did "use" the comal. It looked just great in the middle of my dining room table, holding fruit.

[Lisa J]

Cool. What fresh chiles can you get in France? Jalapenos? Serranos?

i know i have seen jalapenos. i am not sure about what other specific varieties are here. sometimes they are just labeled "poivre piquant". they are obviously not a big part of the native cuisine. i will see what i can find and report back.

[Cynthia G]

But I did "use" the comal. It looked just great in the middle of my dining room table, holding fruit.

Thanks for that image, Jaymes.

I tried to find pear vinegar yesterday at the markets in Santa Fe, with the exception of Whole Paycheck... I mean Whole Foods. They will probably have it and I will probably gasp at the price.

But I am now determined to make a batch of salsa this weekend using it, so I might have to pay what they want. Or drive all the way to Albuquerque, thus negating any price differential on the actual product.

[Jaymes]

We seem to have come far afield from the initial question regarding which of Diana Kennedy's fabulous recipes to try first, but here is another "typically Mexican" preparation that offers enormous bang for the effort involved.

All over Mexico, when you request a Shrimp Cocktail, or "Coctele Camarone," what you get is flavorful shrimp swimming in a tomato-based broth. Think "shrimp gazpacho." This is traditionally served in a "copa," which is a large heavy goblet, like a beer schooner. There will most likely be one or two generous slices of avocado garnishing the top. You eat it with a spoon. Sometimes you'll see "Coctele del Mar" or "Coctele Campechana" or something else that indicates that the cocktail contains mixed seafood. "Campechana" refers to the state of Campeche, which is on the Gulf coast. So a "Coctele Campechana" means "in the style that a woman from Campeche makes it." These mixed seafood cocktails contain the same broth but, in addition to shrimp, feature other varieties of fish and seafood, most often squid.

These proportions are approximate. I just tried to come up with some guidelines to follow:

Coctele Camarones (Mexican-style Shrimp Cocktail)

1 lb boiled, cleaned medium shrimp (see below)
1 1/2 C tomato juice
juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/2 C catsup
1/2 C chopped green onions
1 ripe tomato, seeded & chopped (you can peel them and when I have homegrown tomatoes with their skin a little tougher, I do, but most of the time, I don't bother. In winter, when you can't get flavorful tomatoes, I use those 'Nature Sweet' cherry tomatoes)
cilantro, chopped, to taste
1 jalapeno (or other chile, minced, and this is optional -- many people don't like biting into raw hot peppers, so consider who's going to be eating it. You'll be serving hot sauce alongside, so those that want more heat can add it later)
Dash or two Worchestershire
Tabasco, or other hot sauce
avocados

Combine all ingredients except avocadoes. Chill for several hours. Traditionally served in large goblets, like beer schooners, called 'copas' in Mexico. Pour the cocktails into copas. Slice your avocadoes in half. Hold the half with the seed in one palm, and with a sharp knife, whack into the seed. Twist and pull and the seed should come out easily. Now whack the knife holding the seed onto the side of the sink, and the seed should fall into the sink. Now cut your avocado halves lengthwise again. Starting at the narrow end, you should be able to easily pull off the skin just like peeling a banana. On top of each copa of shrimp cocktail, arrange two crescents of avocado. You can also decorate with a sprig of celery. Serve with saltines, extra slices of lime, and a selection of hot sauces.

Boiled shrimp:

I usually just make these with cooked shrimp I buy from the store (because I'm always rushed for time, it seems), but it is better when you boil the shrimp yourself.

24 shrimp, shells on
1 C water (often I use beer)
1 clove garlic, chopped
dash pepper
1/3 C limejuice
1 jalapenos, chopped

Put everything in pot and boil until liquid reduced to approx 3/4 C. Toss in shrimp and cover and simmer 2-3 minutes, until shrimp are just beginning to curl. Remove shrimp immediately to cold water. When cooled, clean shrimp and chill.

This recipe is an absolutely great starter course for entertaining a la Mexicana. When I'm having folks over for Mexican, I start with a big bowl of chips, my salsa, another bowl of my guacamole. Then everyone gets a coctele camarone. I have a pretty little basket I got in Mexico and in it I arrange a selection of hot sauces to pass. We all talk about the various hot sauces and where they're from and how hot they are. In addition to several Mexican brands, I include some Marie Sharp's from Belize.

For a tablecloth, I use those brightly-colored Mexican sarapes that everyone turns their nose up at in the Mexican markets. But on the table, it's very festive and fun. I've collected shot glasses from all over Mexico and everyone has one at their place, with a couple of brightly-colored Gerber daisies. It looks spectacular.

Mucho bang for your entertaining peso.

Edited by Jaymes, 28 February 2004 - 11:11 AM.

[Jaymes]

At some point, fairly early in the process, you'll want to make a salsa that involves a base of dried chiles--either guajillos or pasillas, most likely. This becomes my basic red sauce for enchiladas. I know that Diana has several recipes along these lines, it usually consists of the chiles, which are seeded, dry fried, and soaked in boiling water, pureed with pan-charred onions, pan-roasted garlic cloves, and water. Sometimes nothing else (well, salt). This salsa is then fried in lard, like Jaymes described, and simmered a bit.
It is a great tomato-less red sauce for multiple applications, and there are a million variations/elaborations on it.

In my opinion, I think this is excellent advice. And when you start making your enchiladas, you'll need to know this. I brought it back up because I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle.

[Msk]

Jaymes,

I had a bunch of tomatoes lying around that my father-in-law dropped off and were on their way out. I remade your salsa using those tomatoes broiled (as Diana Kennedy suggests in several recipes). The result was goot but basically not discernable from the canned tomatoes. Certainly not worth the effort, though I will try again at the peak of tomato season to make my final decision.

More support for your "Do it this way first." suggestion.

Msk

[Dana]

I made Jaymes yummy salsa yesterday. Served it over beef and bean tostadas, and again this morning on my scrambled eggs with cheddar. Super delish!!
Thanks so much

[purplewiz]

I also made Jaymes' fabulous salsa tonight, and it was perfect. Even though, like most folks, I'm a recipe tinkerer, I followed it to the letter, and it was amazing. And it did take more garlic salt than I would have supposed.

I served it over simple broiled chicken breasts, and it was so good, we just had a late night snack of quesadillas with a healthy dollop. I keep sneaking back into the kitchen to have another spoonful, just to see how sitting in the fridge is affecting the flavors. (Or so I tell myself.)

Thank you SO much for this recipe/set of instructions!

Marcia.

[Jaymes]

Thanks folks! I'm feeling MUCH better about this whole thing.

I certainly understand that taking the very best fresh ingredients, and following very carefully laid out traditional methods, would probably produce something marginally better.

But as a busy working mother with a family of five, it was a blessing to have something so tasty and versatile that I could whip together. We ALWAYS had that salsa in the fridge. In the summer, I often add a chopped fresh tomato. I experiment with different herbs and powders and chiles. I've tried carrots for sweetness, and onions and fresh garlic. Sometimes I do make salsa from scratch. But for a "fall back" version, I personally think it's pretty hard to beat, and I am more thrilled than you will ever know that you all are enjoying it as well.

That's really what eg is all about, isn't it?