Verde

by L

 

Today, another of your fearless bloggers brought in his own home cooking. You don't hear much from R because he manages the site rather than the writing, but you should not doubt his devotion to the cause. As a Mexico native, R is accustomed to food with a kick. After his last journey home, he brought us Salsa Nortenia. It was delicious, of course. Today, however, we are going to talk about something that required an even greater labor of love than importing a liquid via air travel: R made us a sauce. 

In R's hometown, there are many places to buy tacos. All of those tacos need salsas to top them. Although we are most familiar with red, tomato-based salsas and mild guacamoles in the USA, these taco shops have far more variety. The best of these sauces gain local fame.  The trouble with fame and taco trucks and stands, though, is that it can be difficult to come up with a way to refer to a business that others will understand. One stand became known in folklore as “Tacos de Transito” (Transit Tacos) because it was located just outside the offices of the Transit Police Department. For years, this place in Toluca, Mexico has served some of the most delicious “tacos de carnitas” (pork tacos) known to man.  Part of the food magic in these legendary tacos is the hot sauce served on top of them. Simply referred to as “verde” (green), by the executioner manning the stand’s grill, the sauce is avocado based and its precise recipe is really unknown to the public. Since his exile from Mexico, R has been haunted by the memory of the sauce and out of desperation tried to reverse engineer it. After several attempts he thinks he came close enough to the real “Verde” flavor to be willing to share his concoction with us.

Recipe for Verde’s Bizarro:

• ½ small clove of garlic
• ½ small onion (2 tablespoons of finely chopped onions)
• 2 Serrano peppers
• ½ Habanero pepper
• 1 ripe Hass avocado
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• ¼ Fresh lime
• salt

1. Finely chop the garlic, onion, and peppers.
2. Finely chop enough cilantro leaves to fill two tablespoons.
3. Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and empty the fruit in a mortar (NOT the weapon, the bowl)
4. Add the finely chopped ingredients to the mortar and use a pestle to crush, grind, and mix the ingredients until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth (if done properly your arm should ache!).
5. Squeeze the ¼ lime into the mortar and continue grinding and mixing.
6. Add salt to taste (I use ¼ teaspoon) 
   
   
   
   
   

Name: Verde's Bizarro

Manufacturer: R

Chili peppers: Serrano (Capsicum annuum) and Habanero (Capsicum chinense)

Country of origin: Mexico

Rating: 9.5

This sauce is hot and fresh at the same time. It is great for tacos, steak, chicken, you name it. The flavor is best when fresh, but it will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days.