Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo a.k.a. The Fifth of May is primarily a regional, and not a federal, holiday in Mexico; the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. It commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
So naturally, as a current resident of Tucson, this is a time of celebration for many! In the spirit of the day we had some taqueria style food whipped up by the household. I am usually the one cooking all of it but today I only took on salsa duties. I decided to keep it simple since I had worked earlier in the day. I put together a roasted tomato & tomatillo salsa. Now I know you're probably wondering what I know about salsas or mexican food in general but believe me I know a thang or two homie. I have a HUGE advantage by residing in the southwest just shy of the mexican border. As you may also know, I used to cook full time as a profession. During that time, I came across a kind co-worker who just so happened to reside from Mexico City. She was the first person to introduce me to the traditional mexican cuinary fare. I mean when I learned my first salsa, I made this right in her own molcajete( mexican style mortar & pestle, made of lava rock), she brought from home. It was a roasted serrano & tomato salsa. I also learned how to make refried beans, antojitos("little whims") such as, sopes & quesadillas, I also learned how to make Horchata...the list goes on, so like I said Im pretty well versed but would LOVE to learn even more! Anyways, enough tootin' of my own horn. Here's a basic recipe of that salsa. Hope you like it. If it seems too hot, cut back on the chiles or take out the seeds inside.
Roasted Tomato & Tomatillo Salsa:
3 tomatoes
3 tomatillas
5 jalapeno chiles
11 serrano chiles
1-2 garlic cloves
handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
salt(to taste)
Method:
Roast All ingredients until charred a bit on the outside. You can place in a plastic sandwich bag(closed) and later remove them to take off the darkened skins. Alternately, you can leave the skins on for a more rustic appearance. It won't affect the overall taste much.
Note #1:
You can do this on a comal or put it in an over on "broil" for 5-8 mins on top shelf(spray ingredients with a little pam or alike spray)
Grind ingredients in the following order:
1.)garlic & chile peppers(make a paste to use as a flavor base, add salt here to use as an abrasive to aid in grinding)
2.)tomatoes & tomatillas
3.)Lastly, roughly chop cilantro and add just before serving.
Note #2:
You can use a food processor(pulse feature)or an immersion blender(stick blender) to make the salsa but keep in mind the traditional method and far superior method would be to use a molcajete.
Oh yeah, before I forget we also had tacos de carne asada(Carne Asada tacos)& Nachos(far from traditional mexican food....LOL).
To make your own tortilla chips:
1 bag of corn tortillas of your choice, white or yellow
vegetable oil
fryer
turn oil in fryer up to 375 F.
take the stack of tortillas and slice in half horizontally, making semi-circles
now with each individual semi-circle slice a "V" into it diagonally
you should end up with roughly 3 stacks of pyramid shaped chips, if you want more
slice down the middle of each chip stack(this entire process is called quartering)
repeat process with other semi-circle
once oil has come up to correct temperature drop chips in but DO NOt over crowd the fryer, because each time you drop chips in it will drop the temperature of the oil and you want the oil as hot as possible, in order to get a crisp chip with as little grease as possible.
cook chips for 3-15 minutes until crisp. *See note below.
*Note: cooking times will vary depending on brand of tortillas. just experiment and keep a close eye on them as they cook.
