I got hot sauce in my bag
One good thing about salsas is that it’s fairly easy to fire off a few of them in short order.
Pair it with “Formation” by Beyonce.*
I don’t like to make decisions, so whenever I can have a selection of salsas to smear onto a tortilla or bring a chip to its apex, I consider it a win. Here are three salsas that make good use of a single roasting pan, some fresh tomatillos and tomatoes, an onion, and some garlic.
Preheat your broiler. Onto a large sheet pan, throw about 8-10 tomatoes, halved, a dozen small tomatillos, halved, a large white onion, quartered, and two garlic cloves. Drizzle grapeseed or other neutral oil over the pan and sprinkle on some salt. Place the pan under the broiler for about 6-8 minutes, or until the items on the pan start to char. While you’re waiting for that to happen, toast about 5 morita chiles and maybe 2 ancho chiles for 1-2 minutes in a skillet over high heat, then place the chiles in a bowl of hot water to rehydrate.
Ancho-Morita Salsa
Once the pan is out of the broiler, make the first salsa. This salsa gets its flavor in two major ways: the smoky-sweet chiles and the “second” cook the salsa gets in a skillet, which rounds out and concentrates the flavor. Transfer all of the strained rehydrated chiles to a blender, along with 5-6 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 of the onion, and 1 clove of garlic. Pulse a few times to break up the larger pieces, and then blend for 5-10 seconds. In the skillet you used to toast the chiles, warm a bit of neutral oil, and add the blended salsa. Cook, stirring regularly, until the color deepens a bit and the salsa thickens. Taste for salt and maybe a little lime juice.
Salsa Verde
Make the second salsa. Transfer all the tomatillos, a handful of cilantro leaves, 1/4 onion, and the remaining clove of garlic to the blender (personally, I’d skip rinsing the blender from the first salsa, because those extra bits of smoky heat from the chiles will only improve the taste of this salsa). Pulse the mixture until the ingredients are broken down and integrated, but still chunky. Add a little lime juice and salt to taste.
Salsa Casera
You should have about 3 tomatoes left in the pan, which I recommend you pulse in the blender with 1/4 onion and a small handful of cilantro leaves. Once it has arrived at your desired consistency, taste for a little salt and lime juice. If you would like to add a touch of heat here, try mixing part or all of a finely diced Serrano chile into the salsa.
* I know that she’s not actually singing about hot sauce, but it’s on theme and it’s a good song.
