Smokey, Spicy & Tangy Hot Salsa

A couple weekends ago I made some delicious hot salsa from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everday.  It was a cinch to make and I ended up using it on everything - quesadillas, scrambled egg tacos, and of course chips.  I love the smokiness of dry roasting the ingredients, the tanginess of the tomatillos, the spiciness of árbol chiles.  You can find the chiles at Fairway, Whole Foods, or a Mexican grocery store.

Tomatillo-Sauced Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms

So my best friend and I are a bit obsessed with Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday cook book.  Each week we are always calling each other talking about what recipes we have tried.  A couple weeks ago I made Tomatillo-Sauced Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms, and the best part is definitely the tomatillo sauce.  Thankfully, I had plenty of sauce left over from the enchiladas, so throughout the week I was making scrambled egg tacos and huevos rancheros.

Here are the ingredients for Rick Bayless' Tomatillo-Sauced Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms from Mexican Everyday (Serves 4):

-3 cloves garlic, peeled

-Fresh hot green chiles to taste, stemmed and quartered (1 jalapeno or 2 serranos are suggested)
-1 1/2 pounds (10 to 12 medium) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and cut into quarters
-1/4 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro, plus a few extra sprigs for garnish
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil or bacon drippings, plus more for the tortillas
-2 cups chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
-8 ounces mushrooms (button, oyster or shiitake are good), stemmed and sliced
-1 large red onion, thinly sliced
-10 ounces (about 10 cups) spinach, stems removed*
-1 cup (about 4 ounces) shredded cooked chicken (about one-quarter of a large rotisserie chicken) or cubed ham (optional)
-Salt
-12 corn tortillas, preferably store-bought
-3 tablespoons Mexican crema, sour cream, heavy cream or creme fraiche
-1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
-1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other cheese such as feta or goat cheese

*Note: I used twice the amount of spinach the second time I made these enchiladas, which I recommend if you are not adding meat.

To begin, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Husk, rinse, and quarter the tomatillos.

Quarter the chiles and peel the garlic.

With a food processor or blender, finely chop garlic and chile one piece at a time.  Add the tomatillos and cilantro, and process until smooth.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the puree and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the mixture has reduced to the consistency of thick tomato sauce, about 7 minutes.  Rick notes that the more you cook down the this base, the richer and sweeter the tomatillo sauce will be.

Add the broth and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

While the sauce is simmering, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a very large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high and slice the mushrooms.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring nearly constantly, for a couple of minutes, until they begin to brown.

Slice the onion and add about three quarters of it to the mushrooms (reserve the rest for garnish) and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for another minute or two, until the onions look translucent.

Add the spinach and optional chicken or ham and cook, stirring constantly, for a minute or so, until the spinach is wilted.  Season with salt, usually a scant teaspoon.  Cover to keep warm.

Lay out the tortillas on a baking sheet and spray or brush lightly on both sides with oil, then stack them in twos.  Place in the oven and bake just enough to make them soft and pliable, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the oven and stack them in a single pile; cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm.

Stir the crema (or stand-in) into the sauce.  Taste and season with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon (add sugar if sauce seems quite tart to you).

Holding a tortilla by one edge, dipping most of it into sauce, then lay it on a plate.

Spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of filling down the center, roll up and lay seam side down on a dinner plate.

Repeat with 2 more tortillas, arranging them on the same dinner plate.  Cover the enchiladas with 1/4 cup of sauce, sprinkle with a quarter of the crumbled cheese and garnish with some of the resered onion and cilantro sprigs.  Continue to assemble the rest of the enchiladas or save for later.

Eat immediately while still warm and delicious!

Last year around this time I made a delicious quinoa salad, click here for the recipe.

Or if you are looking to make a Valentine's day treat, try some royal icing sugar cookies.  Click here for the recipe.

Mexican Everyday Salsa

For Christmas, my sister gave me Rick Bayless' cookbook called Mexican Everyday.  After paging through it that morning, we were both inspired to make a couple salsas while we were staying at our parents' house.  I watched Rick Bayless on Top Chef Masters, and instantly liked him and then really loved him once he won the title of Top Chef Master.  It was refreshing to see a chef just be so nice, down to earth, and humble while at the same time making delicious food.  His cookbook gives off a similar vibe as his persona on television.  It is easy, unpretentious, and everything sounds mouth-watering.  What I particularly like, is each recipe concludes with a few "riffs" on the recipe - such as how to make the chicken tortilla soup vegetarian, or what spices can be substituted, etc.  He also does a mix of fresh ingredients with canned goods, and encourages you to replace with fresh produce when seasonally possible.  My sister and I made Rustic Roasted Tomato Salsa and Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Pan-Roasted Tomatillos.  Both were good and very different from one another.  The roasted tomato salsa is nice and fresh and like a roasted pico de gallo, and was great for dipping a chip into.  Next time I will use a hotter chile to make it spicier, but start off with a jalapeno if you are worried about the heat level.  I think the chipotle salsa could have been better, but only because my sister and I didn't know which brand of canned chipotle chiles en adobo were the best, and also I wasn't for sure on the amount.  I felt like the adobo sauce tasted too much like barbecue sauce.  After reading through Mexican Everyday again, Rick Bayless suggests using the San Marcos brand.  Next time I will try his recommendation.

Here are the ingredients for Rustic Roasted Tomato Salsa by Rick Bayless from Mexican Everyday (makes 2 cups): 

-2 fresh jalapeno chiles (or 4 serranos, 1 or 2 habaneros or practically any fresh chiles), I used jalapenos
-3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
-1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
-One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
-1/3 cup (loosely packed) cilantro, roughly chopped
-A teaspoon or so of fresh lime juice or cider vinegar (optional)
-Salt to taste


To begin, lay the chiles and garlic in a small skillet over medium heat.  Dry-roast until soft and blotchy black in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles and about 15 minutes for the garlic.

While the chiles and garlic are roasting, chop the onion and rinse in a strainer under cold water.  Shake off the excess water and place in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Once chiles and garlic are roasted, pull off the chiles' stems and peel the papery skins off the garlic.  Place them in a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, and pulse a few more times, until the mixture is as coarse or as smooth as you like.

Pour the tomato mixture into the medium bowl with the onion.  Add the cilantro and stir thoroughly.  Thin with a little water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency.  Taste and season with the lime juice or vinegar, if using, and salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.  

If not using with in an hour or two, cover and refrigerate.

Note: If you're not planning to use the salsa within a few hours, wait until you're ready to serve to add the onions and cilantro.

Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Pan-Roasted Tomatillos by Rick Bayless from Mexican Everyday (makes about 1 1/4 cups):

-3 garlic cloves, peeled
-4 medium (about 8 ounces total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and cut in half
-2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo (or more, if you like really spicy salsa)
-Salt to taste


To begin, prepare tomatillos and slice in half.  Place garlic and tomatillos in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  When the tomatillos are well browned, 3 or 4 minutes, turn everything over and brown the other side.  The tomatillos should be completely soft.

Place the garlic and tomatillos into a blender or food processor, along with the chiles and 1/4 cup of water.  Process to a coarse puree.  Pour into a salsa dish and cool.

Thin with a little additional water if necessary.  Taste and season with salt, usually a generous 1/2 teaspoon.