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S A L S A S

Mexican Salsa is a topic that deserves its own cookbook,
but I will mention it here. Every household has a recipe
that will change from house to house. I will only include
a few because the availability of fresh ingredients may
be hard to locate. Salsas can be used in any number of
settings, either as dips or condiments.
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S A L S A   C R U D A

4 Ripe roma tomatoes
1 med. white onion
1 handful cilantro
2 jalapeño peppers or 4 Serranos
1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

This is the most common salsa and can be found at just about every taco
stand across Mexico. The flavor will change from season to season
depending on the heat of the chilies. Often in the hotter months the chilies
are spicier. Also, it is said that when a woman is mad the salsa is spicier. If
this proves to be too hot for you, then you can simply add more tomatoes.

Rough chop all the vegetables into a small dice. Be sure the cilantro has been
washed and dried due to the fact that it will often be sandy. Squeeze on a
little limejuice. Allow it to rest for at least an hour before serving. Never
store it in plastic container. Salsa never tastes good in plastic. This cannot
only be served with tortilla chips, but also as a condiment. We eat it on hot
dogs, hamburgers, and tacos and even spoon it over grilled chicken or fish.
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S A L S A   V E R D E

Salsa Verde is a great salsa and is as common as ?salsa cruda? in Mexico.
It is a little harder to come by the ?tomatillo? in the United States. It can be
found in a can in the Hispanic isle of your grocery from time to time and will
work well. Sometimes you will see it in the tiny imported section of the
produce isle. It is a small green looking tomato with a yellowish green husk
over it. It is a very sour little fruit, but mellows when cooked. They are
slightly sticky when the husk is peeled away but it washes off clean.

½ lb tomatillos
3 toes garlic peeled
1 small red onion
½ bunch cilantro
2 jalapeños or 4 Serranos
Salt to taste

Cut the onion into fourths and husk and wash the tomatillos. Add everything,
except the cilantro, to a medium saucepan covering it with water and boiling
until the tomatillos turn dark in color. Strain off most of the water. Remove
the stems from the peppers. Place it all in a blender or food processor. You
will need a small amount of water to make it easier to blend. Pulse or
liquefy. Now add cilantro raw and give it another whirl so that the cilantro is
well chopped. Do not serve this salsa in a plastic bowl. This can be used in
the same manner as any salsa, and goes very well with poultry.
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S A L S A   R O J A

5 Roma tomatoes
1 med onion, skin on and cut in half
3 toes garlic
4 Serrano peppers or 2 jalapeños
Salt to taste

Place the ingredients under a broiler and char on both sides. Don?t worry if
the onions and garlic burn. You will remove the skin later. You should only
have to turn the vegetables over once. This should be a quick process. Turn
off the oven broiler and allow the vegetables to cool so that you can handle
them. Now peel the skins off the onion and garlic. Remove the stem from
the peppers. Place it all in the blender or food processor and pulse. Add
some salt to taste.