Spice is Nice
A Tale of Two Salsa's 💃 🌶 🔥 and a Sweet Surprise!
Greetings Friends,
Octopod here and things are gonna get a little Spicy 🌶 🔥 today… We are starting a trip to Mexico. Good news is you can control heat according to your own preferences, as I’ll show you below… so before we get hot… let’s chill for a minute ⬇️
Coffee ☕️ & Ice Cream 🍨:
Another exciting time of month again…
Pre-Orders are open for Octopod Premium Coffee: April Offerings! ☕️
As we enter Q2, you should be asking yourself… “how much better would my morning be with the tastiest coffee ☕️ on the planet 🌍?”
The answer is… a lot! And to give you all a little “extra” this month… all Coffee Orders will come with a Complimentary Recipe that I haven’t released before.
“The Best Coffee Ice Cream Ever” ☕️ 🍨
Yup… not only can you drink these exquisite coffee’s but there are a few cooking applications that coffee does really well with. I’m not a fan of applying extreme heat to coffee; because it’s already been roasted and it’s easy to over-char and bring unpleasant bitterness.
But what if you take the best coffee beans and steep them in an ice cream base? 🤔
Well… it’s a mind-blowing delicious experience… and one of the coffee’s this month is tailor-made for flavoring an insane Coffee-Ice Cream 🍨
That’s why I’m giving the recipe out to all those who order the April Premium Coffee’s; a bonus for all the coffee enthusiasts!
Don’t take my word for it… these coffee’s are life-altering… the latest review speaks for itself:
Here’s a snapshot of the (2) coffees:
Brazil (Washed) 🇧🇷 First Single Origin Brazilian in the lineup
Flavor Notes: Nutty 🌰, Chocolate 🍫 , Raspberry
Colombia (Honey) 🇨🇴 A Farm Run by 2 Brothers Growing Insane ☕️
Tasting Notes: Cherry 🍒 , Lime, Brown Sugar
Mexico 🇲🇽 : South of the Border
Mexico is one of the most vibrant and nuanced cuisines in the world. A food culture that has developed and evolved over centuries; a rainbow of flavors that spans from bright, floral, hot and tangy… to deep, sweet, nutty and smoky.
Contrast that to what most people think of as “Mexican Food”:
-Burritos 🌯
-Nachos 🧀
-Quesadillas
-Guacamole
-Fajita’s 🥩
-Breakfast Tacos 🌮
These foods that have become known worldwide 🌍 as cheap, filling, mass-producable (and in many cases, delicious) thanks to Taco Bell 🔔 give a shallow view of all the variety and intense flavor that Mexico holds in it’s Culinary Toolbox.
Starches and frying techniques are only two of the tools that have become blanket-stereotypes to a cuisine that is rich and balanced.
An amazing array of chili’s 🌶 , fruits and vegetables are all integral to Mexican Food. Corn 🌽 is a pillar of the cuisine; Fish 🐠 can also play the primary role over Carne (meat) 🥩 🍖 in certain regions.
It’s also important to realize that Tex-Mex is very different from Cali-Mex which is very different Interior Mexican Food.
And once you get to Interior Mexico?
You discover that there are 7 regions all with distinct ingredients, flavor combos and preparations that make them unique!
I still remember my first trip to Mexico and it totally blew my mind, in the best possible way. Leaving me going back for more… and still more to explore!
*We'‘ll leave Regionality at that… for now. Next Substack will go deeper into the 7 Regions.
What is Salsa?
Poll is still running but it’s clear (as expected) that to most people, Salsa triggers thoughts of Tomato 🍅.
Hopefully you don’t think of this ⬇️
Salsa literally means “sauce” so you can take this in 100+ different ways… but historically the earliest records of Salsa were from the Incas, Aztec & Mayan people as a mixture of 🌶 , 🍅 and other spices. The term was coined by Alonso de Molina in 1571.
What separates Salsa from Tomato Sauce is primarily: Chili. Yes, you can have verde, rojo, and other variables… but chili 🌶 is what ties all of the Salsa’s together in 🇲🇽 Cuisine.
*Note: Good time to point out that Tomatillo (used in most Verde salsa’s) is not in the Tomato (Nightshade) Family at all… but rather the Gooseberry family.
Chili’s 101:
We can’t go further without discussing Chili’s 🌶 . Chili is such an important ingredient in Mexican cooking. In many cases the heat is very mild and subtle, which is to point out that many types of chili are floral and fruity… adding nuance and depth in a unique way. That reason is why we are starting with chili’s.
Chili’s are peppers which are the fruit of plants in the Capsicum family. There are many chili’s native and used frequently in Mexican cooking… here are some important Dried varieties. (In order from mild heat and sweetness, to spicy)
Ancho: these are smoked and dried Poblano peppers. Low in spice and have a raisin-like sweetness. Common in many mole sauces, chili powder blends and certain salsa’s.
Mulato: a chili that is moderately hot and a sweet, fruity, light smoky flavour. Tasting notes specifically of chocolate 🍫 , cherry 🍒 , and licorice notes.
Pasilla: when a ripe Chilaca pepper is dried… you get Pasilla. Long, thin and tapered, and us similar to an ancho but with more heat.
Cascabel: dried Mirasol chili’s with a characteristic round/sphere shape.
Guajillo: a type of dried Mirasol but is long and flat. Very fruity and tangy flavor profile with a moderate amount of heat.
Puya: Similar flavor to Guajillo but more heat and spice. This chili is a great for a broad range of molés.
Chilhuacle: The negro variety is an old and, now, rare chile. Flavors of cocoa, tobacco and dry fruit. Moderately hot, this chile is the essential for legit Oaxacan mole negro. (If you can find these, you’re looking in the $100’s per pound now. They are a treasure 🙌 )
Morita: these are dried and smoked ripe jalapeno peppers. Bright, fruity and pack a tremendous kick of heat.
Arbol: Possibly the most popular and used chili in Mexican cuisine. Clean and sharp in flavor, bright red color and a heat to match! These peppers are easy to find and work with.
Pequin: These tiny, oval chili’s are not for the faint of heart. They deliver some of highest heat levels out of all the chili’s used in Mexican cuisine. The small size makes it easy decrease or add into recipes.
The standard measure of heat is the Scoville Scale (Scoville Heat Units; SHU) ⬇️
With the above in mind… let’s go back to… SALSA 💃
Dos Salsa’s Para Empezar
Here’s (2) Salsa recipes to get you started on your journey… using dried chilis and not tomato.
Why dry?
Well, everyone seems to have a go to Fresca Salsa. Using fresh tomato (or tomatillo), raw or roasted, with serrano or jalapeno… you get the idea.
But I see a fewer people using dried chili’s to make delicious salsa. And guess what? You can keep the dried chili’s in your pantry indefinitely… making this easy and convenient.
The First is a basic Salsa de Arbol. This is a bright fruit and heat forward salsa. Perfect on grilled meats served with rice, breakfast tacos, or tamales. Anywhere you want bright heat… this delivers and is a classic OG salsa from family meal times when I was in kitchens. If you want less heat, remove the seeds. If you want even less heat, use 1/2 the amount of chili’s as ancho or pasilla… however you won’t get that brilliant red appearance, and the flavor will be much different.
The Second is an Arbol based salsa with tomatillo. The tomatillos bring a slight starchy and acid-forward salsa adding depth and lower heat in general (1/2 the amount of chili is used).
*Note: to restate. Anytime you want to lower the heat of a chili pepper, start with removing the seeds.
Salsa de Arbol
(Makes approx 1.5 cups)
INGREDIENTS
6 garlic cloves, peels left on
2ounce dried arbol chiles, (remove stems; remove seeds for less heat 🔥)
1.25 cups water
1/2-3/4 tsp sea salt
METHOD
Preheat your broiler, when hot roast the garlic whole turning ever 1-2 mins until charred all over. Remove from oven
In a saute pan/skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles. Stir regularly until the chiles darken slightly. You will be able to smell this, should take 2 mins or so.
Remove the garlic skins and place in blender with the chiles and 1.25 cups water and 1/2 tsp of salt.
Blend until nearly smooth; having some texture is best IMO. Taste, it will be spicy, and add any salt if necessary.
Salsa de Arbol y Tomatillo
INGREDIENTS
1/2 ounce (about 16) Arbol chili’s
6 garlic cloves, skin on
1 lb (10 to 12 medium) tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
Salt
1/2 tsp honey (optional)
METHOD
In a saute pan/skillet set over medium heat, toast the chiles, stirring them around for a minute or so until they are very aromatic. Cover with hot tap water and let rehydrate for 30 minutes.
Chili’s are being held under water with a clear plate to rehydrate. Preheat broiler; Roast the tomatillos and garlic on a baking sheet (approx 4 inches below) until darkly roasted, even blackened in spots.
The garlic will need to be pulled sooner; flip the garlic after 1-2 mins, the tomatillos will need 3-4 mins per side. Remove the garlic and finish the tomatillos as needed.
Drain the chiles and add them to a blender with the tomatillos (and any juice), the garlic honey and a pinch of salt. Puree, then scrape into a serving dish. *If necessary you can stir in some water to give the salsa a spoonable consistency, usually about 1/4 cup.
And there’s 2 rock solid Salsa’s that are easy to make and bursting with flavor.
This weekend I’m going to drop for the Paid Subscribers another really cool Salsa Recipe, that has some serious depth and an unexpected ingredient 😉 Also we will go over the Perfect Fish Ceviche… from start to finish!
If you haven’t jumped on as a Paid Subscriber… get in now so these recipes drop to you ASAP… for $0.17 a day, a literal steal! 🙌
Until Next Time! 🥂
Awesome. Now I want salsa
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