I love Mexican and Southwestern fare. How excited do you think I was when I received tomatillos, jalapeños, avocados, corn, heirloom tomatoes and poblano peppers in my Talley Farms CSA box! In several styles of food, the sauces are what makes the meal incredible and Mexican food is definitely at the top of that category. With a few other add in’s, I came up with three unique salsas that would compliment a multitude of dishes.
I used three different processes to give a variety of ways to create salsa. For my Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, I cooked the tomatillos, garlic and chiles under the broiler to achieve tenderness and a nice char. For my Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa, I cooked the Poblano peppers, tomatoes and onion on the barbecue for a bit of smokiness. I decided to opt for a fresh taste for my Avocado and Corn Salsa so I used fresh uncooked vegetables. All three came out fantastic!
They were all simple to create and taste so much better than store bought salsa! Don’t think you are limited to pairing them with chips. There are so many other great uses for them. Serve them with any egg dish (you can even mix them into your favorite deviled egg recipe), they are a great accompaniment to any chicken, pork or fish dish, wonderful in a salad as an alternate or coupled ingredient to your dressing, and of course will go perfectly with tacos, enchiladas, rellenos, tamales. And the list goes on…
For my meal, I made shrimp soft tacos. I simply seasoned my shrimp and pan fried them. The tortilla was made of blue corn and flaxseed, warmed & lightly toasted on the stove. I mixed my avocado and corn salsa with some shredded radicchio and a touch of sour cream as a bed for the shrimp. On top, was a bit of crumbled cotija cheese. To finish off the taco, I topped it with both the roasted tomatillo salsa and the roasted poblano & tomato salsa. OMG, it was amazing!
SHRIMP SOFT TACOS WITH SALSA’S THREE WAYS
Serves 4
Ingredients
Tacos:
- 8 corn tortillas (I used blue corn and flaxseed)
- 32 shrimp (size 31/40)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- spice mixture (1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chile pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper)
- 2/3 cup Avocado and Corn salsa
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded radicchio or cabbage
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
- salsa (I used my homemade roasted tomatillo and roasted tomato & poblano)
- cilantro for garnish (optional)
(Salsa recipes to follow)
Directions
- Dry shrimp with a paper towel and sprinkle with spice mixture.
- Mix Avocado and Corn salsa, sour cream and radicchio together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat skillet and add oil. Add seasoned shrimp and pan fry for 4-5 minutes or until just cooked through, turning after about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
- Lightly toast tortillas in a large flat skillet or carefully on a very low flame directly on your gas burner. Remove to a tortilla warmer or foil packet to keep warm while finishing all 8 tortillas.
- Assemble the tacos. Layer the tortilla with about an 8th cup of the radicchio mixture, 4 pieces of shrimp, a heaping tablespoon of cheese and a sprinkle of cilantro, if using.
- Serve with salsa for passing.
Yield – 3 cups
Ingredients
- 2 ears fresh corn, shucked and cut off the cob
- 1 firm, but ripe avocado, diced
- 1/8 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 1/8 teaspoon hot chile pepper, seeded and minced
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon champagne vinegar
- salt to taste
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour before serving.
Yield – 1 cup
Ingredients
- 8 ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 2 jalapeño chiles and 1/2 serrano chile
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1/8 cup white onion finely chopped, rinsed under cold water & strained
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment. Roast the tomatillos, chiles and garlic about 4 inches under the broiler. After 5 minutes, turn the vegetables and continue to roast until blotchy and softened. Cool.
Peel the garlic and seed the chiles if desired. (I always taste for heat and then proceed accordingly) Transfer everything to a blender, including any juices from the tomatillos and add the cilantro, lime juice and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a coarse puree. Add onion and season with salt.
ROASTED TOMATO AND POBLANO SALSA
Yield – 3 cups
Ingredients
- 1 lb tomatoes
- 2 – 1/2″ thick slices white onion
- 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 poblano chiles
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Heat a gas grill. Use a vegetable grill basket for the garlic, onion & tomatoes and place the poblano chiles directly on the grill. Grill over medium low heat until charred on all sides and softened. Pull the items off as they are done. Place the chiles into a glass bowl and cover with cellophane to let cool for 10 minutes. Peel the garlic and tomatoes.
- Peel the chiles and remove their stems and seeds. Coarsely chop the chiles. In a food processor, coarsely puree the tomatoes, garlic and onions. Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped chiles, lime juice and salt. Adjust the thickness with a bit of water if necessary.
Note
- When handling chiles, always wear gloves and avoid touching your face or eyes.
(Printable recipes can be found in my recipe index under Main Entrees and Sauces)