Newspaper Recipes: Fire Roasted Pepper Salsa

I think I would need to live 3 lifetimes in order to be able to try every recipe I have ever clipped from the newspaper. Lately I've been trying even harder to pare down my ever-growing collection using the following criteria:

a.) Is it too high in fat.

b.) Does it use ingredients that I usually do not have in the fridge or pantry.

c.) Is it so complex that I may only make it once (or have only made it once).

d.) Am I never going to make it, so that the little scrap of paper will end up in the endless purgatory of my hutch drawer.

Roasted peppers: like saturated pigment paints.

This recipe soared its way past my criteria, and even made its way into my handwritten moleskine notebook that I carry with me when I travel. It's so easy that it can be made in 10 minutes (not including the roasting...but you could roast the peppers anytime and even freeze them roasted), it's so versatile, that you can pretty much throw in whatever you love, and it can be served with or on top of anything and everything. Pretty much a winner all the way around.

As I recall, it was found about 2 years ago in a local free paper that I used to toss right into the recycle bin. After finding it, I then eagerly perused the paper each time it came before tossing it directly into the recycle bin. We don't seem to get that many free papers or even mail that much anymore, so I haven't seen any more free recipes from Mollie Katzen, who appeared at the time to have a syndicated recipe column. I have several of her cookbooks, so it was no surprise really that this recipe fit all of my keeping criteria.

So, here it is: keep in mind that really every ingredient is optional, and you can use whichever peppers you choose. I used some poblanos today, so I omitted the cayenne.

Fire Roasted Pepper Salsa - Mollie Katzen

• 2 lbs red, yellow and/or orange peppers, broiled or grilled
• splash of olive oil
• 1 1/2 t. minced garlic
• 1/2 t. salt or to taste
• 2 t. cider vinegar
• 1 T. fresh lemon or lime juice
• cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/2 t. sugar, optional
• 1/2 t. cumin, optional

Grill (or broil, or roast at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes until blackened in spots) peppers, discard seeds, and reserve any juice. Mince pepper flesh, stir in the rest of the ingredients. That's it. I don't even measure anything, just eyeball. Mollie's notes say you can add finely minced cucumber and diced avocado, but when I tucked it into the fridge next to some corn on the cob leftover from last night's dinner, I was thinking that may be a good addition as well.

I love this on eggs, grilled cheese or other sandwiches or on fish and added to miscellaneous taco fillings that make up the bulk of my diet.

And I love how it looks waiting to be used in the refrigerator. I love vinegar, and like to imagine that I could get about 2 weeks durability out of this salsa due to its addition...but it never lasts that long. I have to get a new pressure canner lid and experiment with canning some of this up. But I do believe that will be a project for next year.

Salsa Verde, the Savior of my Week

It all started last Friday. I was so excited to embark on my second Daring Baker Challenge... And I had a good reason for all the extra calories involved since Maeckel was coming over Saturday night for dinner. It was his birthday, and it has become somewhat of a tradition. But it was a disaster, the Daring Baker Challenge. Tears were not involved, but Frustration certainly reared his ugly head. For details, please tune in Thursday for the whole story...

But luckily, I had a plan B. Part of the challenge was salvageable and made its way into a dessert. And I knew I could not go wrong cooking something of Rick Bayless'. We had Spicy Country Style Pork Ribs (from the Julia Child Cooking with Master Chefs cookbook). I have made other similar sauces of Rick Bayless', and never have gone wrong. In fact, next Thursday, my husband and I are going to Chicago to eat at Topolobampo for the first time ever, for my birthday. I'm so excited, that I find myself really unable to cook in anticipation. Maybe I want to be really hungry. I haven't really been starving though, since I made his salsa verde to accompany our dinner Saturday night.

Some leftovers for Maeckel to take home...

I can happily eat leftover anything topped with salsa, and I really think that next to mango salsa, this is the one I usually have in my fridge at all times. I used to do it exactly like Rick Bayless suggests in his book, but now I kind of tweaked it to be a tad less messy. Since I had the oven on anyway on Saturday, I actually just roasted the tomatillos for a really long time, and toasted the chiles de arbol and garlic on a skillet in there too. I love this salsa, because roasting the tomatillos can make the best of even so-so fruits, and the dried chiles enable you to make this whenever you have a feeling too.

So here is my interpretation of:

Rick Bayless's Salsa Verde:

1 lb. tomatillos

8 or more dried chiles de arbol (can be found in most Latin sections of the supermarket, or order online from Amazon or my favorite The Spice House) The first time I made this salsa with a whopping 3 oz. of chiles, and it was HOT...I do notice that the heat subsides the longer it resides in your refrigerator.

1 or 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled

salt

sugar

You can place the tomatillos under the broiler until they blacken in spots, but this really makes a huge mess of your oven. If I don't feel like the extra cleanup, or if the oven is already on, I like to roast the tomatillos until they are nice and soft, but still retain their shapes. If you are using the oven, you can toast the chiles and garlic in there too. Otherwise, just toast the chiles for a couple of minutes on a hot cast iron pan on the stovetop, and toast the garlic until it becomes nice and soft and blackened in a few spots, about 15 minutes.

After the chiles are toasted, soak them for 15-30 minutes in boiling water to soften them a bit. I've also made this without rehydrating them, but I think this step makes the texture of the final salsa better.

When your components are finished roasting and toasting and soaking, combine everything in the food pro, or a blender if you have a good one (I do NOT. Last time I had to move everything to the food pro after attempting to use my dinosaur of a blender, so I had twice the clean up. I really should have just chucked the stupid blender into the garbage, but it does still work - meaning the blades still go around anyway - so I just couldn't. But if someone were to give me a nice shiny new blender, and since I'm dreaming, maybe a VitaMix... I would accept in a heartbeat.) Blend until it looks like nice salsa, and season with a bit of salt and a tiny bit of sugar - basically to your taste. You could also throw in a handful of cilantro here if you desire.

Lunch

Dinner

Now your salsa verde is ready for inclusion into anything. I served it with quesadillas yesterday, and had it on tacos for lunch today. And last night when I mixed it with the mango salsa on my plate, really thought I may be on to something. So I probably will have to make another batch and include the two together.

Low Country Sweet Potato Salad

I sometimes enjoy reading and trying reader recipes, and most definitely knew I would like Low Country Sweet Potato Salad submitted to a Cook's Illustrated magazine, Cook's Country, by Veronica Callaghan. I love sweet potatoes, and any time I find recipes for them - especially when they are roasted - I try them. And this recipe has bacon. What more can I say?

The first time I tried this, I used it as a side dish. It made so much that I added the leftovers to tacos, with nice results. This time I made it knowing how much it made, anticipating the tacos that would be made from the leftovers. I had these particular leftovers last night with my friend Elisa, visiting from Boston, in pinto bean tortillas, with scrambled eggs, tomatillo salsa and mango salsa. Queso Fresco would have been a natural fit, but none in the icebox, so thin slices of mozzarella were acceptable. My dimly lit room doesn't do much for showing how good this actually was... We each ate 2 and were full and satisfied.

leftovers, remade.

These tortillas are good freezer staples. I know now that I am good at cooking many things, but nothing in this world will allow me to make tortillas like my Mother. So instead of disappointment to myself, I adopted the art of the corn tortilla. After two years of only corn tortillas, freshly made to order, I got this recipe that R1's Mom gave her for flour based tortillas with beans which are not only healthful, but easy to make, and hard to over work. I also like that I can use any type of bean, and frequently use leftover refried beans or whatever type I happen to have going. I'm going to post the recipe here since I misplaced it recently, and didn't trust my memory so I had to call around the people I knew that had it until I got it again from R1.

(A Note: 15 oz. cans of beans contain only about 9 oz. of actual beans. I know because I bought a can and drained them and weighed them. Since I make my own beans from dried, I usually use about 10-12 oz. for this recipe, with fine results. The important thing is that the "feel" is right to you. Either alter the amount of water or flour depending on your likes, and cook Confidently! I also like to add other spices when adding the flour: coriander, cumin, chile powder, Mexican oregano... whatever you think you would like.)

BLACK BEAN TORTILLAS

(Makes at least 20, depending on your size. Leftovers freeze well for a month or so.)

1 15 oz. can drained black beans (or pintos, kidney, white, etc. see note above)

3 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup water (more or less)

scant 1/3 cup oil (I usually use about a half of a 1/3 c. measure with fine results.)

salt, 2 or more pinches

In food pro, processes beans until semi-smooth. If you use leftover mashed beans, just whizz them around to break them apart a bit.

Add oil, whizz some more, then add flour and salt. With machine running, add water through the top until the dough looks like dough, taking the top off to check the stickiness if needed. I usually use the whole 2/3 c. of water, and sometimes more depending on the humidity. Try not to over process.

When dough is cohesive enough to handle, turn out onto a board using a bit of flour if needed and lightly knead into a ball. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes - 1 hour. Then pinch off ping pong ball sizes of dough, roll out on a floured board, and cook on a medium hot cast iron pan.

You may lose a few the first time you try, but persevere. I find that I like to add a little extra flour when I form the balls and roll them out, so I don't like to leave the dough too dry before it rests.

As for the potatoes...

LOW COUNTRY SWEET POTATO SALAD

(serves 6-8)

2 3/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 c. olive oil (you can use a bit less if you like, like I do)

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large shallot, minced (or 1 white onion, chopped to your liking)

1 t. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

1 T. lemon juice (I just use half a lemon)

1 t. hot sauce of your choosing

2 T. toasted sesame seeds

2 T. or more chopped parsley (or cilantro if you like it better)

Adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower middle positions, and heat to 375. I like to line 2 sheet pans with foil for easy cleanup, or you can spray or oil 2 sheet pans.

Toss potatoes with 1/4 cup of olive oil, bacon, shallot or onion, cayenne, pinch(es) salt and pepper. Divide between the two pans and roast 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Switch position of the pans at the half way point. Cool potatoes for 20 minutes.

Whisk together lemon juice, hot sauce, and remaining olive oil in small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Transfer potatoes to a large serving bowl, and add dressing. Mix in chopped parsley or cilantro, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve cold or room temp.

When I scrambled the eggs for the tacos last night, I first heated up the pan and refried the potatoes first. Then I added my eggs right to the skillet and scrambled them in with the potatoes. I would venture to say that there is not a bad way to reheat these potatoes, and though I haven't tried it, I think they may caramelize a bit more if you roasted them initially at 400 or even 425 or 450 if you are brave. Next time, my friends. And I'll be sure to let you know.