Pico de Gallo (Salsa Fresca)
To make up a batch of this Pico de Gallo/ Fresca Salsa, get:
- - one Red Capsicum
- - one Yellow Capsicum
- - one Green/Yellow sweet banana chili
- - one Jalapeno (more, or add a Habenero if more heat is desired.)
- - a bunch of Shallot Spring Onions
- - three cloves of Garlic
- - Three or four Tomatoes
- - Salt
- - Black Pepper
- - one Lime squeezed for juice (I added zest once and liked it, so may add that as a regular).
Roughly chop up the chilies, onions, garlic, spring onions, and capsicums. If you want it finer, you can put into a food processor. Give it a brief (5-10 seconds) whirl on a low speed.
Core and slice the tomatoes and add. ( I don't usually put the tomatoes in the processor as they tend to make it quite liquidy)
Add lime juice to temper the heat if needed.
Salt, pepper to taste.
Can be used as a dip, or added to other dishes to add another dimension of taste. Easy to tweak any way you want (less peppers, remove pepper/chili seeds or not, add onions, etc.) This is just a quick way to get a good bowl for dipping your favourite corn-chips (I prefer the Byron Bay Corn Chips as they are only lightly salted). I find that when the corn chips are really salty, its best to leave the salt out of the salsa.
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This is a good one...
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers!
Ingredients
10 fresh jalapeno chilies
10 bacon rashers, cut in half
6 Chorizo sausages (or just the chorizo meat if your butcher supplies it that way)
1 cup cream cheese (Philadelphia, or if you feel like it, triple cream Brie)
1 cup grated cheese (Monterey Jack, Colby, or whatever preference you have)
1 tsp chipotle or chili powder
2 shallots, minced
Instructions
1. Slice the jalapenos lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and membrane. If using bell peppers,
quarter them after they are seeded.
2. Mix the cream cheese, grated cheese, chipotle powder and minced shallots. Fill the hollowed out portion
of the peppers with the cheese mixture.
3. Place the chorizo meat on top of the cream cheese. Wrap the half slice of bacon around the jalapeno. If the
bacon is not staying tightly wrapped, it may be necessary to use a toothpick or baking twine to hold it in place.
4. Smoke them in a smoker, set at 225°F (108°C), for 2-3 hours, or until the bacon is browned.
If you don’t have a smoker handy, a BBQ will suffice. Use the high grill on a low heat (gas) or not too many briquettes.
Also, an oven will work too.