Finger Licking Food: Salsa

I have always wanted to make good tasting Salsa to go along with Tortilla chips to satisfy my hunger pangs. I know, not a very healthy snack but absolutely mouth watering. I was not satisfied with my previous attempts at making home made Salsa, until I lay my hands on "Red Hot: A Cook's Encyclopedia of Fire and Spice".

As I had promised in my previous post here's a picture of the book. I would say its a must own for spicy food lovers.It has all the information you need about chillies and over 300 recipes using chillies of various kinds.

Classic Mexican Tomato Salsa is from this book. I served it with Santa Fe wraps and Tortilla chips.

Santa Fe Wraps

Simple finger food for a party or just to satisfy that 'snack' hunger pang!

You will need:

½ cup Sour cream
½ cup Softened Crème Cheese
¼ cup Frozen Corn (thawed)
2 tbsp Celery finely chopped
½ cup Tomato finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp Hot sauce (Recommended : Tobasco)
Salt and Pepper
3-4 Tortillas
Toothpicks

Blend all the ingredients in a bowl to make a smooth mixture. Cover and chill for an hour to let flavours combine.

Spread an even layer of this mixture on one side of a tortilla. Roll tortilla gently to make a tight roll. Prick toothpicks at intervals on the roll and cut in between to make individual sized wrap pieces.

Serve alongside Salsa Verde and Classic Mexican Tomato salsa. The celery gives a nice crunch and the corn adds a bit of sweet amidst the tang and spice.

Spirals of Flavour

You can add our own choice of filling, like chopped jalapenos, blackbeans or a little bit of the salsa itself.

Classic Mexican Tomato Salsa

You will need:

3-5 Fresh Serrano Chillies (use 3 for medium heat and more for hot)
1 large white or red onion
Juice from 2 Limes and the grated rind
8 ripe, firm tomatoes
Large bunch of fresh coriander
¼ tsp Sugar
Salt

To peel the chillies, spear them on a metal skewer and roast over the flame of a gas burner until the skins blister and darken. Do not let the flesh burn. Place the roasted chillies in a strong plastic bag, tie the top of the bag to keep the steam in. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile finely chop the onion and put it in a bowl with the lime juice and rind. The lime juice will soften the onion.

Remove the chillies from the bag and peel off the skins. Cut the stalks and slit the chillies. Scrape the seeds with a sharp knife. Chop the flesh roughly and set aside.

Cut a small cross in the base of each tomato. Place the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water to cover. Leave the tomatoes for 3 minutes and immediately remove and run under cold water. The skins will have begun to peel back from the crosses, remove the skins completely.

Dice the peeled tomatoes and put them in the bowl with the chopped onions. Add chopped coriander, salt,sugar and chopped chillies. Mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow the flavours to come together. The salsa will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.