Ariana's Salsa

Mmmm...mmmm....mmmmm

Are you ready for some homemade salsa? It is pure deliciousness and good for you too. Ariana's salsa consists of peppers and tomatoes. That is all. How awesome is that? Doesn't get any better.

Okay, so we started out with 11 peppers, jalapeños and serranos (though you can make it with just one kind) and 6 tomatoes. (smaller ones roast better)

Place the peppers on a comal "griddle" (the comal is a necessity. if you love tortillas you should get one. i've come to realize that this should be the only way to warm a tortilla up) with foil. Heating the peppers this way really captures that savory taste.

Here's a photo I found on the web of the comal "griddle" similar to the one we used. There are many variations though.

You want to heat the peppers until you can peel the skin off of them. This will take a while, say 60 minutes or so. While the peppers are roasting (you'll want to keep turning them over so they won't get too black on one side) start preparing the tomatoes. Core each one. If your comal is big enough, go ahead and place them on there with foil. Heat the tomatoes up until the skin is ready to peel off, about 20 minutes.

These peppers are starting to look ready.

 

Some of them will get done before others. Place the ones that are ready to be peeled in a plastic bag, like a ziploc. This will help keep them moist for peeling.

Peel the peppers and place in a bowl. Ariana recommends wearing thin gloves doing this. Otherwise prepare to have some "hot hands." If you happen to have a Molcajete, this would be optimal. It's pretty much a mortar and pestle and looks like this.
(I didn't take this photo. Found it on internet.)

We didn't so we used what we had, a glass bowl and a glass.

 

Keep an eye on those tomatoes, turning them as well. These are starting to look ready. The skin will start to peel apart and wrinkle and juices will start to ooze.

Place the peppers in the bowl and start smashing them. Ariana used a glass that had a decent flat bottom. Smash them a few at a time. It is easier.

Once Ariana had all the peppers smashed she spooned some of the tomato juices in it so it wouldn't go to waste and to give it a little more flavor. You don't have to if you don't want to.

Now it's time to peel those tomatoes.

Place one tomato at a time in the bowl with the peppers and smash them.

You want them to be smashed very well.

Justin and Olivia during the salsa making process.

And voila! A nice big bowl of some kick ass salsa.

Let it completely cool before storing in the fridge.

 It definitely has some kick to it. If you let it sit overnight, some of the heat will subside. This salsa is particularly great for a condiment. 

Ariana plans on making a salsa verde at some point. I'm sure it will be just as delicious. I'll post about that whenever we make it.



Next blog: Panteón Civil de Delores