Salsa

A raw salsa, with nice strong flavors. Best with tomatillos, but still good with not-too-hard green tomatoes. I like to mix a little just-ripe red tomato in as well.

GINA My attraction to mangoes was confirmed on a trip Pat and I took to Mexico. The velvety fruit tastes like an exotic mix of pineapples and peaches, and the flavor just explodes in your mouth. In creating this salsa, I stuck with Mexican tradition and added fresh cilantro, which you can chop or tear apart. Cilantro also offers a health benefit by soothing the digestive system. So, little do the guys know, I’m taking care of their stomachs as well as their appetite! (Ladies, y’all can thank me later.) Mind you, I was a little skeptical about whether they’d go for it, so I deep-fried the tortilla chips, so they’d have something familiar to dip.

Last time I was at the SeeWee, an old-school seafood restaurant outside Charleston, I had an incredibly good plate of grilled grouper with fresh tomato salsa. Not only was the fish superfresh and perfectly cooked, but the salsa, a rough mix of vine-ripe tomatoes, white onion, and cilantro, was so simple and bright that it enhanced the flavor of the fish perfectly without overpowering it. I was so fond of it that I’ve been re-creating it at home ever since. It’s just the sort of light, fresh supper you want in the dead of summer.

My friend Karin and I moved to Boston at about the same time, and of all the things this fellow Tex-pat and I missed the most, at the top of the list was the spicy, smoky, black-flecked salsa at La Fogata restaurant in San Antonio, where Karin grew up and where we both loved to visit when we were in college in nearby Austin. In those days, La Fogata would sell you the stuff to go, but only if you brought your own container. Karin would fly back to Boston with a gallon jug in her carry-on, something that wouldn’t go over too well with the TSA anymore. Nowadays, you can order the salsa online, but it’s not quite the same, no doubt due to the preservatives required to make it shelf stable. After I saw a take on the recipe at SpiceLines.com, I started experimenting and developed my own. In addition to gracing the top of Tacos de Huevos (page 87) and going into Spicy Glazed Mini Meatloaf (page 65), the pungent, garlicky condiment is good on grilled pork chops or steak. Of course, it can be served as an appetizer with tortilla chips. The recipe doubles and triples easily.

Sauce is basically salt in liquid form, gussied up with any manner of delicious glutamates, lipids, acids, and aromatics. There are nuances, sure, but the nuances are, well, nuances. Sauces can be more than that. Mango salsa is an example of a sauce so succulent that it challenges the raison d’être of the food for which it was created. Tacos, empanadas, tortilla chips, hamburgers, pizza—all become mere delivery vehicles for the lush, tart, spicy salsa. All the more so when the salt is introduced as a distinctive ingredient in its own right. Confettied with onyx black or garnet red crystals of Hawaiian salt, this salsa brings a firecracker pop of festivity that celebrates saucing not just for flavor, but as visual and textural celebration of food. Use it atop anything from fried fish tacos to green salad to yogurt to steak.

This recipe is an updated version of the classic cooked Mexican tomato sauce, which is made with vegetable purees and simmered on the stove. My version roasts the vegetables in the oven, allowing them to caramelize, before they are pureed. The result is a sauce with deep rich flavor and a hint of sweetness. If you don’t like heat, make sure to remove the seeds from the jalapeño!

This recipe is commonly referred to as Pico de Gallo (rooster’s beak). I suppose it is because the ingredients are all chopped up as if they were broken up by a bird’s beak. It is one of my favorites since it is not only delicious but also low fuss. Don’t worry about chopping the vegetables into uniform sizes or shapes and certainly don’t feel compelled to measure any of the ingredients. This chunky sauce goes well with almost every Mexican dish and is the classic accompaniment to serve with tortilla chips.

This has become my favorite sauce—for now. Its fresh flavor, vibrant color, and slight heat (which you can control with the amount of jalapeños you add) are the reasons why. And once you discover how easy it is to prepare and how long it keeps in the refrigerator, I don’t doubt it will become a favorite of yours, too.

Avocado sure knows how to tango with mango. As a taste and texture combo, it’s one of the most refreshing two-steps I’ve come across. Mangoes are sweet, but not overly so. Avocados are creamy, but with some heft. Together, they make for a fantastic salsa that’s especially great for people dealing with a metallic taste in the mouth due to treatment. With the added perkiness of the red bell pepper, cilantro, and lime, this salsa whirls around the dance floor of your palate.

This zesty salsa gets its flavor and green hue from tomatillos. Tomatillos have a tart, citrus-like flavor that works as a zingy accompaniment to fish (see Halibut Enchiladas with Salsa Verde, page 86). When choosing tomatillos, smaller is better. The smaller ones have a sweeter taste. Tomatillos should be green and about the size of a large cherry tomato. The inside is white and meatier than a tomato. They are covered by a papery husk that may range from the pale green to a light brown. The husks are inedible and should be removed before use.

I frequently have friends over to play games at my house, and it’s become a game night tradition that I put out heaping bowls of Pico de Gallo and guacamole along with a big basket of tortilla chips. Pico de Gallo improves with time and I serve it with chips, of course, but also spooned over any red meat, in tacos, or with scrambled eggs for huevos rancheros. For an extra chunky salsa, simply mix all the ingredients together without pureeing. Whatever texture you prefer, the burst of fresh flavor this salsa offers depends on using ripe, in-season tomatoes and lime—never lemon—juice. For a spicier salsa, leave some or all of the seeds in the serrano peppers.

This exciting, inviting fruit salad is especially delicious served with grilled pork or chicken.

Store-bought salsas are generally quite good (I always have some on hand, both for using as a dip and as a shortcut to great flavor in recipes). However, for an occasional treat, nothing equals homemade salsa, especially one made with fresh tomatoes. Serve with tortilla chips or as a condiment with Mexican-style dishes.

Bright yellow mango sweetens the deal and adds a dose of vitamin A, which helps keep your skin glowing and clear.

Editor's note: Chef Roberto Santibañez, the chef/owner of Fonda in Brooklyn, New York shared this recipe as part of a festive taco party menu he created for Epicurious. He recommends serving this salsa with his Carnitas or Carne Adobada Tacos . The Spanish name for this salsa means "rooster's beak," and originally referred to a salad of jicama, peanuts, oranges, and onions. But today, whether you're in Minneapolis or Mexico City, if you ask for pico de gallo, you'll get the familiar cilantro-flecked combination of chopped tomato, onion, and fresh chiles. This tart, crisp condiment (also known as salsa Mexicana) has become so common on Mexican tables that it seems like no coincidence that its colors match those of the national flag. Besides finding firm ripe tomatoes and seeding them, the key to this salsa is adding plenty of lime juice and salt, and not skimping on the chiles. Because without a burst of acidity and heat, you're just eating chopped tomatoes.

Editor's note: Chef Roberto Santibañez, the chef/owner of Fonda in Brooklyn, New York shared this recipe as part of a festive taco party menu he created for Epicurious. He recommends serving this salsa with his <epi:recipelink id="364389">Carnitas or <epi:recipelink id="364409">Carne Adobada Tacos.</epi:recipelink></epi:recipelink> Pineapple's bright sweet-tart flavor becomes sweeter and more complex as the sugars caramelize on the grill or under the broiler. Like most fruit salsas, a high heat level—thank you, habaneros—keeps all that beautiful sweetness in check. This salsa brings to mind tacos al pastor—the amazing taqueria specialty of pork roasting on a vertical spit with a piece of pineapple on top, dripping its juices onto the charred meat—so I often serve it with roast pork or Carnitas, but it also goes great with grilled fish or shrimp. I thank my dear friend, the wonderful chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, Sergio Remolina for inspiring this recipe. Cheers, Sergio!

Editor's note: Chef Roberto Santibañez, the chef/owner of Fonda in Brooklyn, New York shared this recipe as part of a festive taco party menu he created for Epicurious. He recommends serving this guacamole with his Carnitas or Carne Adobada Tacos . Before you start gobbling delicate corn tortillas topped with salty, tasty meat in the taquerias of central Mexico, you get to crown your snack with your choice of several salsas, often including what might be my favorite taco condiment of all: guacamole taquero. Blurring the line between guacamole and salsa, this smooth blend of creamy avocado and tart tomatillos packs a spicy punch from serrano chiles and a hint of pungent epazote (many cooks add cilantro instead and so can you). I'll put this on just about any imaginable taco, but it's especially amazing spooned over those filled with Carnitas ,Steak , and grilled cactus.

All the vibrant, sun-drenched brilliance of the tropics is captured in this salsa that evolves in your mouth—first sweet, then hot. Luscious ripe pineapple is a perfect partner to the fiery, fragrant habanero chile. Not only is the habanero the hottest chile readily available fresh, when cut open it releases an intense perfume of ripe tropical fruits—mango, pineapple, citrus. As a finishing touch, a squeeze of fresh lime adds a pop of flavor and brightens the sometimes cloying sweetness of a really ripe pineapple. This salsa pairs well with dishes that are tropical in origin or spirit, that have bright, fresh flavors, or that have been simply marinated or grilled, whether fish or meat. It’s delicious with almost all fish and seafood tacos and grilled chicken dishes. If you cannot find fresh habaneros, substitute one tablespoon of a fruity hot or extra-hot habanero sauce with a mango base (Melinda’s makes a good one) for the habanero chile.

This salsa is great with tortilla chips. The only problem is that it quickly becomes habit-forming—you just can't stop eating it. We serve a bowl of this salsa and a basket of warm tortilla chips to every table in our restaurant, and people always ask for more. I have even seen customers eating it with a spoon, like soup. It goes with everything, from breakfast to dinner, and it accompanies every meal at Los Barrios. It will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Editor's note: Use this salsa to make Deborah Schneider's Mushroom, Rajas, and Corn Taco with Queso Fresco . A very useful salsa that is easy to make and keeps well. Firm, fresh Roma tomatoes are dry-roasted until soft and well charred on all sides (quemada literally means "burnt"), then pureed into a smooth salsa with sweet toasted garlic, fresh cilantro, and onion. Salsa quemada clings to the dryer and chunkier taco fillings, adding moisture and great flavor. It is also a classic table salsa, perfect to serve with tostadas and totopos.

Editor's note: Use this salsa to make Deborah Schneider's Tacos of Carnitas Roasted with Orange, Milk, and Pepper . Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes in sticky, papery husks. In fact, they are relatives of the tomato and are a type of ground cherry. They are native to Central America. Fresh-tasting and excitingly tart, this chunky salsa is great on grilled meat, tostadas, or seafood. It can be made in less than a minute and should be used immediately.

This salsa is delicious, easy, and versatile. I serve it with many grilled foods, including seafood, pork, and chicken. It's also excellent as a dip with tortilla chips. To preserve the salsa and prevent it from darkening, bury the avocado pits in it, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 to 4 days.