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New types of salsas--Vicky Cowal " "Las Mejores Recetas de Vicky"

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New types of salsas

Vicky Cowal, TheNewsMexico.com Columnist - 8/17/2001

If you are a food purist you never want to tinker with a tried and true tradition. But how boring. Are we to go on eating the same meals, no change, all of our lives?

I love what has happened in the food world in Mexico over the last 10 years or so. What is sometimes called "la nueva cocina mexicana" may have arrived on our shores a bit later than in other parts, but it has turned a great deal of the classic cuisine on its head. I find this to be a favorable happening.

Salsas, the "sine qua non" of Mexican cuisine, have benefited from these innovations. There are both cooked and uncooked salsas, but where I find the changes to be most notable are within the uncooked kind, generally called "salsas frescas."

Until recently the ingredients were almost completely standardized, only varying a bit from region to region depending on the available chilies. Very infrequently a fruit or unusual vegetable would pop up in a salsa, but this was quite an anomaly.

Then along came young imaginative chefs and what do we find? Basically that anything goes as long as it's good.

This is not to say that you are going to find these new salsas at your local taquería. In fact, I would have to say that their presence would cause great consternation among the regular crowd, a bit like the "do real men eat quiche" question. Where you will encounter them is at the more up-scale restaurants of Polanco, Condesa, San Angel and Coyoacan.

Part of the fun is being able to experiment at home. Any fruits that are in season can be added to either a standard salsa such as "pico de gallo," or they can be part of a totally new idea. Vegetables such as cucumber, roasted bell peppers, corn and jícama are in vogue.

Just put your imagination to work and you can create your own salsas with different kinds of vinegars (rice, balsamic, herb-flavored) and oils, spicy chili paste instead of fresh chilies, any kind of herb or spice that strikes your fancy.

The only three requisites for making really great salsas are truly fresh ingredients, patience in chopping the ingredients into small pieces (coarse chopping just won't do) and allowing time for the flavors to blend (always cover them well to keep the flavors in).

That's it. The salsas are best eaten within a few hours as they tend to lose their crispness after that.

These salsas are delicious with corn chips or as an accompaniment to quesadillas, grilled meat, fish or poultry. I also serve them as a side dish with Mexican buffets that I cater and they are always a great hit, even with more conservative eaters.

Note: In the recipes below, all of the salsas should be brought to room temperature after removing them from the refrigerator. Also, it is important to make the salsas in glass or ceramic bowls and not metal ones as they can pick up the flavor of metal.

Papaya & Vegetable salsa
1 medium papaya, peeled, seeded and chopped fine
1 medium tomato, chopped fine
½ cup peeled, seeded and finely chopped cucumber
¼ cup minced scallions
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and diced
salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a glass bowl and mix well. Season to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Papaya & Corn Salsa
1 red or yellow bell pepper
¼ cup corn kernels
¼ cup diced papaya
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, to taste

Place the pepper over a direct gas flame and blister, turning frequently until it is charred all over. Place in a plastic bag, close the bag and let the pepper steam for 10 minutes. Under running cold water, peel off the blackened skin and then remove the core, seeds and membranes. Rinse and dice. Place in a serving bowl.

Place a small steamer basket over an inch of boiling water in a small saucepan. Add the corn, cover and steam for 2-3 minutes. Drain and cool. Add the corn, papaya, cilantro and olive oil to the pepper. Season with salt and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Makes about 1 cup.

Mango Tomato Salsa
3 ripe Manila mangoes, peeled and chopped fine
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped fine
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon chili paste
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
salt, to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1- 2 hours. Makes about 5 cups.

Mango Pico de Gallo
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lime juice
½ cup finely chopped red onion
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup peeled and diced mango
1/2 cup peeled, diced jícama
1 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
1 teaspoon powdered chile piquin

Combine the garlic and olive oil in a small bowl and set aside for 15 minutes. Combine the lime juice, onion and salt in another bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.

Put the mango, jícama and cucumber in a salad bowl and combine with the chile piquin. Add the olive oil and lime mixtures and combine well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Makes about 3 cups.

Pineapple Cucumber Salsa
½ cup diced fresh pineapple
½ cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
1 small tomato, chopped fine
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 serrano chili, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped spearmint
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt, to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a glass bowl. Season to taste with salt, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Makes about 1 ½ cups.

Pineapple Tomato Salsa
2 cups diced fresh pineapple
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons walnut oil
salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a small serving bowl. Taste for seasoning, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

Vicky Cowal has lived in Mexico City for the last 30 years. She has her own catering business and runs a cooking school. She has written extensively on cooking for newspapers and recently published a cookbook called "Las Mejores Recetas de Vicky" (Editorial Trillas). For further information, contact her at vickycowal@aol.com

New types of salsas--Vicky Cowal &quot; &quot;Las Mejores Recetas de Vicky&quot;

New types of salsas--Vicky Cowal " "Las Mejores Recetas de Vicky"