Learn with recipes: salsa

Showing posts with label salsa. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Roasted Corn Heirloom Tomato and Habanero Salsa

This is that most wonderful time of year when there is such an abundance of seasonal Summer vegetables that we have waited all year to enjoy. Sometimes, in fact, there is so much either from an over eager trip to the farm stand or from a bumper crop in our own gardens that we wonder what in the world to do with it. Living in northern Indiana we are surrounded by corn and, while most of the fields are harvested for feed, we still have our share of sweet corn. In fact, in the midst of Summer I always have more sweet corn than I could ever possibly eat alone due to the prepackaged 1/2 dozen or dozen parcels my local farm stand sells. As most who read my blog on even a somewhat consistent basis knows, I love salsa, so I could come up with no better way to incorporate my plentiful produce into a delicious and healthy treat than fresh and fiery salsa.

Roasted Corn, Heirloom Tomato and Habanero Salsa
1ear sweet corn, husk and silk removed
2 large ripe Heirloom tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion
1 habanero pepper
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
small handful fresh cilantro
salt

Preheat your grill to high. Season the tomatoes, corn and habanero pepper with a little canola oil, salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes, corn and hot pepper on the grill and cook until a nice bit a char develops and the vegetables soften slightly. To prepare the habanero, cut it in half and remove the veins and seeds being extra careful not to touch your face after handling. Place the 1/2 of the seeded and vein habanero (you can add more but start slow), tomatoes, raw onion, garlic clove, lime juice, cilantro and salt into a food processor. Pulse until vegetables are well incorporated and evenly chopped. With a sharp knife, cut the kernels from the ear of corn and add it to the salsa. Stir in by hand so as not to break up the kernels with the blade of the food processor. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Pork Taco and Mango Chipotle Salsa

How quickly taco night rolls around! I swear, I could eat tacos and salsa every single night of my life and never, ever tire of either of them. I do think that the pork taco is my favorite, though. I made a slow roasted pork butt a while back and froze quite a bit in individual servings for just such an occassion. Sometimes it seems like kind of a hassle to package up leftovers into single serving portions and freeze them for later, but it is really worth it! All I had to do was remove a container of the pork from the freezer and pop it in the microwave for a minute or two to thaw. If you want to know how I prepared the pork roast from the beginning, just do a quick search through some of my previous postings about 6-8 weeks ago you will find it.

To prepare the salsa, I quartered my very favorite Sammie tomato from Charlie Sweet Corn produce stand and tossed it into a food processor with some onion, garlic, fresh cilantro, a chipotle pepper, a small mango, lime juice and salt and pepper. I pulsed it until it reached the consistency I was looking for and, Im telling you, if you like salsa, this is so delicious and goof proof.

To assemble the taco, I heated the shredded pork in a skillet over medium heat with a little oil. I added some chili poweders, garlic powder, Mexican oregano, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and about 1/4 cup of water. I simmered it until it was heat through. The flour tortillas were heated directly over my gas stovetop flame until heated and little charred and then topped with the pork, sliced onion, mango chipotle salsa, monterey/cheddar cheese, lime and a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro were the finishing touches.