Making Salsa
Photo courtest goodiesfirst/Flickr
A warning to those who’ve said I’ve been making you hungry lately – yes, this post is once again about food!
My husband went on a salsa-making binge last night. (Spoiler Alert: if you’re reading this and you work with my husband, and you are expecting to receive a Christmas gift from him, you’re probably getting salsa.) Thanks to all the stuff I put in the freezer this summer, we’ve got a ready supply of salsa-making ingredients. Last night, he decided to make tomatillo salsa.
For some reason, I always get drafted to peel the roasted peppers, and for some reason, I always agree to do this. And I never wear gloves, so about 10 minutes after I’m done peeling the peppers, and after I’ve washed my hands four times and can still feel the peppers stinging under my fingernails, I’m googling to find out how the heck you really get chile oil off your skin. Last night’s search produced my best treatment yet, which was to pour oil on your hands, rub it in good, then wash it off with soap and cold water. I found some molecular scientist online who says the oil will bond with the chile oil and take it away, and that cold water is better because something bad happens when you use hot water. (Sorry I can’t be more specific, but I am NOT a molecular scientist, and the only thing I cared about remembering was “cold, not hot”.)
So, the first batch of salsa was made and it was HOT, HOT, HOT! Prompting me to query: “You put the WHOLE bag of peppers in this?” “It was the little bag,” my husband replied. To which I informed him those were serranos, not jalapenos. Oh.
So, out came another bag of tomatillos. (We have LOTS of tomatillos in the freezer – all roasted and ready to be made into something.) More tomatillos added, he let it sit so the flavors can meld, and voila! Fabulous salsa! My husband really does make great salsa.
Of course, I did notice this morning that there’s still a jar in the refrigerator marked “Xtra Hot”. I’m thinking he has that earmarked for my brother-in-law. Some people never met a hot pepper they didn’t like.
December 20, 2012 - 1:29 PM
Ahh, memories of hot pepper encounters. I have a fairly high pain tolerance and didn’t think pepper oil would be a big deal. When I discovered I was wrong, I tried every type of soap and lotion, buttermilk, vinegar (which actually did help somewhat)and finally had to go outside and pull weeds until I wore the chile oils off my skin. I’ve never made salsa in the winter but it would have to taste so much fresher than any I’ve ever eaten canned. Do you roast your veggies on the grill before freezing?
We roast them at least in the oven before we freeze. You pull tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos out of the freezer and you have a little taste of summer in the middle of winter!
You do green sweet peppers the same way? I usually just slice or half green bells and then freeze them.
Green peppers don’t get roasted before freezing, but I often roast my red peppers first. I love roasted red peppers!
Speakin of peppers, I assume we’re talking about sweet bells? Years ago, I raised some sweet bananas then got away from them, why I don’t know. This year I raised them again. Think I’ll stay with them. Small enough for 2 people to eat a single one at one sittin. Pickled rings, salads and a batch or two of salsa this year. Colorful also.
Sweet and hot peppers. Those serranos my husband used were HOT!