salsa loca

one of the things i really miss about living in mexico is the salsa. everywhere i went there were at least two varieties on hand. one or both likely to burn you an extra hole both going in and coming out, if you know what i mean. in mexico salsa seems to be used as a preservative, a condiment and as an antidote to the heavy diet. in the northern high desert where i stayed, it was all cattle and cheese and tortillas, so you see a little hot salsa was definitely needed to keep the works running. one of my favorite least-favorites sights was the giant, boiling, lard-filled vats into which huge strips of pig skin, bigger than a small child, were submerged until they were all golden and crispy and bubbly, just screaming "heart attack". the thick brown smoke that somehow defied gravity and managed to rise up into the air despite it's obvious weight was nothing if not intense. porkfat fried pork fat. wow. anyway, getting back to the subject at hand, people would eat these three foot long pigfried porkrinds with some really, but i mean really hot salsa. for purely digestive purposes i imagine.

back to the good ol' us of a and i really miss my salsas. as i've mentioned before, i'm a huge fan of all condiments - there's nothing easier than opening a jar of salsa or harissa or tapenade or whatever and throwing it into whatever's cooking for dinner to add that little extra something. i'm also a cheapskate when it comes to buying little jars of things (unless it's some expensive cream guaranteed to make me look ten years younger), so i almost always make my own. here is a recipe for one of my favorites. it's completely adaptable to whatever types of dried chiles you have on hand (or can find - even in my local mercados in northern mexico i never found any cascabels for sale) - the only chile i would not omit is the chipotle. there is no getting around the fact that this wonderful smoked jalapeno is irreplaceable. this is also a good recipe for when tomatoes aren't really in season, as it uses only one. for more information on chiles go here http://www.g6csy.net/chile/index.html

salsa loca
2 cascabel chiles (can substitute guajillos)
3 guajillo chiles
1 chile de arbol
1 chipotle chile
1 tomato, broiled
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/2 c. water
1 clove garlic
2-4 Tablespoons cilantro
white vinegar, to taste

brush or rinse off any debris from the dried chiles and toast lightly on a comal. if you don't have a comal, a cast iron skillet or even a regular old frying pan will do. make sure you do not burn the peppers or the salsa will be bitter. what you're going for is a smoky taste - on a really hot comal a few seconds is all i really need, i usually press the pepper down with a spatula to expose more pepper surface to the metal. you can even skip this step and the salsa will still taste good. remove from heat. remove stems and chop or cumble. remove most (or all) of the seeds for a less hot salsa. broil the tomato either in a toaster oven or under or a broiler or you can even just boil it for a little bit if you don't feel like dealing with the whole broiling bit but the charring and cooking bit adds a very nice toasty flavor. throw everything except vinegar and cilantro into a blender or food processor (oh, if you're a purist feel free to break out your mortar and pestle but i think things taste better without little drops of my sweat in it). pulse until the salsa is smooth but retains some texture - you should be able to see little bits of seeds and stuff intact. add coarsely chopped cilantro and pulse once or twice. season to taste with vingear and additional salt. buen provecho.