This is for you chips and salsa fans! They taste best fresh from your kitchen. Can you almost taste the warm, crispy chips topped with zesty, chilled salsa?
Homemade Tortilla Chips
You can make this ethnic tradition in your own kitchen. At your next party let your food reflect your cooking talents. You will see that they are quite simple. I will get you started amigo!
Fried Tortilla Chips
Ingredients:
24 yellow, white and blue corn tortillas for a nice variety of color
2 quarts safflower or sunflower oil
sea salt
cumin
Stack the tortillas into piles of 6. Cut them into 6 wedges with a sharp knife. Use an electric deep fryer for deep frying them. Pour the oil in to a depth of 4 to 5 inches. Make sure you don't pour in oil to a level more than halfway up the side of the fryer. When the temperature reaches 375 to 400 degrees F on a deep fat thermometer, add several wedges. Don't crowd the fryer. Fry for 1 minute and stir a couple of times. Don't fry to the point where they turn brown. Usa a slotted spoon to move the wedges onto paper towels to absorb fat. Season with sea salt and cumin while still hot. Makes 12 dozen chips.
Baked Tortilla Chips
Ingredients:
6 stone-ground corn tortillas
1 cup safflower, canola or sunflower oil
sea salt
cayenne pepper
These chips are made of less fat but still retain rich taste. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Stack all the tortillas on top of each other. With a knife, cut the stack in half, and then in half again. Cut each quarter in half so you end up with 48 triangular chips Brush only one side of each chip with a little oil. Spread the chips on the prepared sheets in a single layer. Turn once while baking for 10 to 15 minutes. Once the chips become lightly toasted remove. Season with sea salt and cayenne pepper while still hot. The benefit to you of using canola oil here is that it is high in monounsaturated fat--a healthy fat.
Mexican Salsas
Red Salsa
Ingredients:
1 large, ripe tomato
fresh, hot green chiles to taste--this will be roughly 3 chiles serranos or 2 chiles jalapenos--stemmed
1 small yellow onion
1 clove garlic--peeled
8 to 10 sprigs fresh coriander--cilantro--chopped
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice or cider vinegar
Chop the vegetables. Core the tomato and then optionally seed it by cutting across its width and squeezing out the seeds and liquid. Chop very finely and scoop into a small bowl. For a milder version of this sauce seed the chiles and chop them finely. Chop the onion and garlic finely. Add these all to the bowl along with coriander. Season the sauce with the salt, lime juice or vinegar, and 1 T. of water. Let the flavors mingle for 1/2 hour before serving.
Hot 'N Smoky Salsa
Ingredients:
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. soy sauce
3 ancho chiles
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp. sea salt
Chop finely the ancho chiles. For a milder version of this sauce seed the chiles. In a bowl mix together Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and tomato sauce. Add the sea salt. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Salsa de Chile Rojo
Ingredients:
4 dried ancho chiles or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 T. cooking oil
Cut chiles open. Discard stems and seeds. Use scissors to cut chiles into small pieces. Place in a glass bowl and cover with boiling water. Let it stand 45 to 60 minutes. Drain. To peel the tomato skins, dip them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Plunge into cold water. Now slip the skins off. Quarter tomatoes. Place in blender and blend until nearly smooth. Mix all the ingredients together in a pan. Cook and stir over medium heat about 10 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.
A note about handling chiles and peppers. In some recipes you may want to devein and seed chiles; so it is best to wear rubber gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. Be very careful not to touch your eyes, nose and lips. To devein and seed them first cut in half lengthwise and scrape out all seeds with a spoon or paring knife. Trim away the inside membrane and stem with a sharp knife and discard.