Spice, spice, baby...

I'm a Texas girl. I grew up eating Mexican food on an at least weekly basis, and I firmly believe that it's my Dad's favorite. When I was a kid, if we went out for dinner, it was almost always to the local Tex Mex place. Now, when I was a kid, I didn't fully appreciate Mexican the way I do now, I can remember complaining to my dad that we ALWAYS got Mexican food, why couldn't we go someplace different. Even when we ate in, chips and salsa were a regular addition to our dinner table. Of course, now that I'm all grown up, it's one of my favorite cuisines, it makes me think of home, it's my comfort food.

When I first left Texas, I realized that finding good Mexican food, especially Tex Mex, wasn't going to be easy. So, I started researching recipes and learning to make my favorite dishes from scratch. I'm certainly not alone as a Texas ex-pat, trying to recreate that amazing food. I have some good friends from college who moved from Houston to St. Louis about 15 or so years ago, and when I flew up to visit them a couple of years after they moved, they asked me to bring tortillas with me on the plane, they just couldn't find them where they lived. (We Texans have to stick together!)

Well, if you read my last blog entry, you know that I've been asked to participate in an on-line cooking class segment for my work. The lesson is a 7-part series on cooking with spices, and one of the segments is cooking with chili peppers. I had submitted several recipes to cover this segment, but we realized when reviewing the recipes with the production team that none of the recipes used fresh chilies, they all used dry. After kicking around a couple of ideas, I suggested a salsa using fresh and roasted chilies and tomatillos. Now I just had to come up with the recipe.

I really enjoy making my own chips and salsas. I've come up with a few different recipes that are my go-tos, many of which I just throw together on the fly, not really measuring ingredients, just mixing and tasting. So, I pulled out my measure cups and kitchen scale, and knocked out a recipe this evening. 

Fire Roasted Tomatillo and Chili Salsa

Makes 3 cups

1 ½ pounds fresh tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed

1 medium white onion, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick slices

2 poblano peppers

1 or 2 serrano peppers 

½ cup, packed, cilantro leaves

juice of 1 lime, plus additional to taste

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven broiler and place a rack immediately underneath the broiler elements. Place the tomatillos, onion slices and poblano peppers on a sheet pan and place under the broiler. Broil, turning as needed, until they are well charred and blackened on all sides. Transfer the tomatillos and onions to a food processor.

Place the poblano peppers in a zip top bag and seal shut. When the pepper has cooled enough to handle, about 10 minutes, remove the pepper from the bag and remove/discard the seeds, skin and stem. Add the flesh of the peppers to the food processor.

With a small, sharp knife, remove the stems from the serranos and slice them in half lengthwise. Using the edge of the knife, carefully shave along the inside wall of the pepper to remove the white ribs and seeds. Place the pepper flesh in the food processor. Add the cilantro leaves and lime juice, and process to a chunky puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper and additional lime juice. Serve.

And, what's salsa without chips? Here is my recipe for the best tortilla chips ever. (I mean it.) Once you try these chips, you’ll never want to buy bagged chips again. Have fun with the flavorings, try squeezing lime juice or sprinkling dried herbs, such as oregano, over the chips before you bake them. 

The Best Tortilla Chips Ever

Corn tortillas

Olive oil

Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the tortillas into wedges or strips. Arrange the pieces in a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven until browned and crispy, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with salsa of choice.