A personal passion of many in the studio has always been cooking, and on several occasions throughout the year we try to celebrate this. Whether it is just someone bringing in their latest culinary success to share, an organized office tailgate, or the simple sharing of recipes – good food always seems to make its way to the studio table. This summer, we used the San Antonio AIA salsa completion as a means to feed our own desire to get our favorite Tex-Mex fix – the “Not your Mamma’s Salsa Cook-Off”. The salsas were as varied as the personalities making them, from Salsa Verdes and roasted chilies to the more eccentric strawberry and cilantro salsa. So after tasting them all with chips and tamales, and washing it down with a cold Shiner, a selection of three of our best were sent on to the larger competition, where the firm’s favorite – Roland Munoz’s “Texas Heat” – was named the overall winner. We thought we would let you decide your favorite by sharing some our recipes.
Texas Heat – Salsa
Chef: Roland Munoz
Ingredients
3 Tomatoes
3 Tomatillos
4 Jalapenos
4 Serrano Peppers
Chile Piquin’s
Salt, Pepper and Lime
Garnish with cilantro
Step 1 – Lightly Roast all peppers
Step 2 – Simmer peppers, tomatoes and tomatillos in water for approximately 30 minutes
Step 3 – Drain peppers, tomatillos and tomatoes. Remove all stems
Step 4 – Puree Serrano’s and Chile Piquin’s
Step 5 – Chop or blend all remaining ingredients and combine with the puree
Step 6 – Add salt, lime and black pepper to preferred taste
Step 7 – Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro
Mac’s Back Yard Salsa
Chef: Mac White
Ingredients
½ lb finely chopped and seeded jalapenos
8 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
3 cups chopped and seeded red Anaheim Peppers
2 cups chopped Vidalia sweet onion
1 cup each chopped sweet red and yellow peppers
6 cloves garlic, minced or roasted
6 oz tomato paste
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
¼ cup cilantro
Core and seed all peppers. Finely chop jalapenos, red Anaheim peepers, sweet onion, red and green peppers. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. For the garlic, I like to roast a whole head and then mince at least 6 cloves, this can be adjusted to taste.
Heat a large sauce pan and combine everything except the cilantro and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer, stirring often, for one hour or until thickened. I like to use the plate test to make sure it is thick enough- take one tablespoon of salsa and place it on a plate and tilt the plate, the salsa should flow slowly in one stream.
Add the cilantro and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool and jar. Served best with tortilla ships and cold beer!!
Suegra’s Salsa
Chef: Viviana Garcia
Ingredients
1 tomato
2 Serrano peppers
1/3 White Onion
1 cup Cilantro
1 Garlic Clove (dry garlic seasoning is fine as well)
Salt to season
Heat up a small pan, once hot add tomatoes and serrano peppers with a dash of salt to season and let it roast. Turn every few minutes until all is soften. While cooking, chop up the onion and cilantro and place into blender. Check on tomato and peppers, once cooked cut off stems from the peppers and add remaining contents into the blender. Add salt to season and blend. Pour the salsa in a bowl, grab a tortilla chip and dip to taste. Enjoy!
