On Sauces & Salsas

Let's talk about how to make: - [**Hummus**](#hummus) - [**Pesto**](#pesto) - [**Mole**](#mole) - [**Salsa Verde**](#salsa) ### Hummus Alton Brown once said hummus has all the essential amino acids you need to survive. Does this mean that I could survive on nothing but hummus? Less of a challenge than it sounds for me. Unlike some of the other items on this list, it's easy to make a lot of it and it tastes good with just about everything. All you need are: #### Ingredients - a blender (you should wash it first) - a coffee grinder (preferably with no coffee in it) - some tahini (I wouldn't recommend peanut butter, unless you're weird like that) - some garlic (crushed in the grinder) - lemon juice (buy it in a bottle, it's easier) - olive oil (or some oil) - a can of chickpeas - salt - if you're extra, add some paprika, cayenne, or cumin I don't give exact amounts because it's up to you to figure out what ingredients you want more of and what you want less of. Get creative! Put the tahini in the blender, add the garlic and lemon juice, and then blend it to get the base. You want to make sure that it's all mixed well, and that you don't have big chunks of garlic. Drain the chickpeas but **save the water**! Add the chickpeas into the blender. If it's too chunky, add some of the aquafaba (fancy word, right? It's that water from the chickpeas) and the olive oil until it gets smoother. Once it's all mixed, you can add the salt and spices and taste it until it's what you like. *Fun fact: the 1st hummus recipe was from the 13th century (1200s AD) in a Syrian cookbook ([source](https://newlinesmag.com/newsletter/the-true-origins-of-hummus/))* ### Pesto This is a fancy one - you won't make a lot, but what's cool is that you can make lots of substitutions and change the consistency and flavor to your liking. You don't have to make pesto like they do at the pizza place! The first time I made it, it was like zesty peanut butter more than anything (not bad!), and the second time (with more oil) it was more like the pizza place. But both times it was good. #### Ingredients - nuts (pistachio, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia whatever) - olive oil (you gotta be picky about this one, you need the flavor!) - parmesan cheese (grated and powdery, not that flaky stringy shit) - some herbs (basil, mint, or oregano - they all bring a different flavor) Grind the nuts in the grinder, a little at a time so you're not cutting up the grinder. The nuts should turn into a paste. Put the paste in the blender. Grind the herbs too (or mince them), and into the blender. Then add the parmesan. Blend it all together, and then start adding the olive oil until it's at your desired consistency. You probably won't make a lot, but it tastes really good! The choice of nuts has the most impact on the flavor - pistachio is sweet, almonds and walnuts are more earthy. *Fun fact: "pesto" comes the italian verb pestare, which means "to pound" (compare with Spanish pesar).* ### Mole Mole sauce has a lot of depth to it - it's sweet, spicy, fruity, and savory. You might have seen some videos online on how to make mole the authentic way: - [https://youtu.be/8sq44hGr8Pk?si=d73peLfZWoBdTpe5](https://youtu.be/8sq44hGr8Pk?si=d73peLfZWoBdTpe5) - [https://youtu.be/yAak0Tg29hY?si=0FJ5UDxVamLAd_Hi ](https://youtu.be/yAak0Tg29hY?si=0FJ5UDxVamLAd_Hi) So you might think: wow that's a lot of ingredients, I don't have the time or money to make that. Thankfully you can use [prepared pastes](https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-01-10/mole-paste-tips) as a starter. We're going to make mole negro. #### Ingredients - A blender - Doña María prepared mole sauce (get it at Cardenas in the Fruitvale, the aisle next to the restaurant) - 2 cups of stock (chicken or veggie) - 3 whole cinnamon sticks - 1 cup Raisins - 1 cup Nuts (I prefer walnuts) - Dried pasilla chiles (it's really up to your spice tolerance level) - A banana (or plantains) - A chocolate bar (or hot chocolate powder) - Clarified butter / ghee - Salt You'll get 2 pots going. In one pot, you'll toast the nuts and raisins in the ghee. Depending on whether you want it sweeter or more savory, change the ratio of raisins vs nuts. The nuts should brown and you can smell them toasting. In the other pot, let the stock come to a boil. Gradually add the paste in chunks (make sure to read the instructions). You'll add just enough paste until it doesn't dissolve anymore - take the solid parts out and use them later. Wait for it all to be dissolved. Add the stock to the toasted nuts and raisins. Let it simmer for ~30 minutes. Remove the seeds from the pasillas, and slowly add the pasillas one by one until it's spicy enough for you - don't add it all at once because you're probably overestimating your tolerance to spice! Put more ghee in the 1st pot and let it melt. Peel a banana and put half of it in a blender. Pour half of your mix into the blender. Start it on low, and then raise the speed to mid until smooth. Put the mix into the pot with the ghee, then repeat with the other half. Let the mix fry for ~30 minutes. Add the chocolate bar at the very end, and let it melt in. P.S. some recipes include pumpkin seeds, but keep that strictly to a final garnish on top. You don't want crunchy chewy seeds in your sauce! *A funny thing about words is how foreign words take on a different meaning from what they mean in the original. "Salsa" just means "sauce" in Spanish. "Mole" comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word "Molli" for "sauce". So if you say you made "mole salsa sauce" you're basically saying that you're making "sauce sauce sauce" (maybe you'll have it with some "buffalo buffalo buffalo").* ### Salsa Verde Way more simple than the mole, and still pretty tasty. Good on salads with some queso fresco. #### Ingredients - A blender - Tomatillos - 1 half of an onion - 3 cloves of garlic (buy it peeled) - Cilantro - Jalapeños (don't buy serranos unless you like it really spicy) - Salt Just put everything in the blender. As before, put the peppers in one at a time and taste until it's the spicy you want. *Fun fact: This salsa comes from the Aztecs - it's hundreds of years old!*

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On Sauces & Salsas