March 1, 2005
BE FEARLESS IN THE KITCHEN: A REFINED SALSA VERDE RECIPE
My friends Laura and Tom just bought their first condo. Last Saturday night was the housewarming,and I have to say it was a helluva bash. A week before the party, though, we did the RSVP Dance that always follows the same a priori, genetically embedded pattern: "What can I bring?" "Nothing." "Tell me or I'll just pick something.". We all have that conversation, and we've all been on BOTH SIDES of that conversation. At the end of this polite and predictable Kabuki Theatre exchange, Laura and I agreed that I would make some salsa.
Now as my lovely better half Wendy will tell you, I'm not famous for paying obsessive attention to following a recipe, that's if I'm even going to pretend to use a recipe. When I cook I have a general idea of where I want to take it, and I more or less make things up as I go. Its never "1/2 teaspoon" of this and "3/4 of a cup" of that, its "a little bit" of this and "a couple" of that. I've been cooking since I was 12, so this process generally works pretty well for me. But when I bomb, I bomb in gloriously horrendous fashion. And this "housewarming salsa" project produced one of each: a spectacular success... and a truly horrible failure.
Today we'll be talking about the spectacular success, of course. A refined recipe for Salsa Verde. What I love about Salsa Verde is that it tastes so fresh. Its got a nice, clean, refreshing zip to it. I've made Salsa Verde maybe a half dozen times in the past year, and the only aspect to it that I felt like I needed to improve was the consistency. I make it from scratch with fresh produce, and pureeing fresh produce always results in a salsa that is a little more watery or thin than I want. So I decided this time I would reduce it on the stove a little bit to see if that thickened it up without losing the fresh flavor. The result: a Salsa Verde home run. This is seriously good stuff.
Here's what I did:
SCOTT'S SALSA VERDE
Ingredients:
3 large fresh Anaheim chiles (also known as California peppers)
3 large serrano chiles
8 tomatillos, husked, washed, and diced
2 large green onions, chopped
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Juice of one fresh lime
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
Sear the Anaheim and serrano chiles under a broiler until the skins are blackened on all sides. Place in a paper lunch bag, and let stand 10-15 minutes. Remove chiles from the bag, remove the stems, and peel off the blackened skins. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, bring chicken broth, tomatillos, skinned serrano chiles, green onions, and garlic to a boil over a high heat. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes. (Tomatillos will start to get mushy, you want this to happen.) Transfer to blender along with pealed Anaheim chilies and the cilantro. Puree the mixture until smooth. Add lime juice. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips.
p.s. The horrid failure was a chipotle salsa that tasted like all chipotle... and nothing else. It should have gone straight down the garbage disposal. If you'd like the recipe as an example of what NOT to do, you'll have to email me.
scott@urbanchiles.com
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