Salsa and Guacamole

These recipes are 2 of my absolute go-to’s whenever I’m making anything Mexican. A fresh pico de gallo salsa and a spicy guacamole are always a winner with food like fajitas, burritos, tacos and mole’s. I’ve fiddled around with these slightly each time I’ve made them, and am very happy with how they’ve ended up. By blanching the red onions, you get the lovely tart flavour without the horrible aftertaste. Next time your making Mexican food, give these a go! Here are the recipes:

Pico De Gallo Salsa

Ingredients (makes 1 medium bowl, enough for 4-6 as a side):

• 6 salad tomatoes

• 1/2 red onion

• 1 1/2 limes

• 1 red chilli (dependant on heat)

• Small bunch of coriander

• Salt and Pepper

• Olive Oil

• Dash of white wine vinegar

Method:

1. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, and de-seed them. Discard the seeds, and then finely dice the tomato flesh. Repeat for all 6 tomatoes

2. Boil a kettle. Finely dice the red onion, and place in a medium bowl. Cover with the boiled water, and leave for 5 minutes.

3. In the meantime, dice up the chilli. I usually leave the seeds in, because its the only form of heat in the salsa, but its up to you. Always taste a small bit of the chilli first, so you can adjust how much you put in.

4. Wash the coriander. Finely chop the coriander stalks, and then roughly chop the leaves.

5. Once the onions have rested for 5 minutes, drain thoroughly, and then add a dash of white wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, and squeeze over the juice of the lime. Leave for 5 minutes, stirring often. This will turn them a lovely pink colour.

6. Once the onions are pink, add the tomatoes, coriander and chilli. Add a glug of olive oil, and season to taste. Mix thoroughly, and serve.

Spicy Guacamole

Ingredients (makes 1 medium bowl, enough for 4-6 as a side):

• 3 medium, ripe avocados

• 1/2 red onion

• 1/2 red chilli

• 1/2 green chilli

• Small bunch of coriander

• 1 1/2 limes

• Salt and Pepper

• Olive Oil

Method:

1. Cut the avocado in half lengthways (vertically) around the stone. Twist and separate the 2 halves, and hack the heel of your knife into the stone. Once its firmly lodged, twist the knife to remove the stone. Keep hold of the stone, as this prevents the avocado from going brown. Repeat for 3 avocados.

2. Follow steps 2-6 for the recipe above (using both the green and red chilli for the guacamole). Combine all the rest of the prepared ingredients with the avocado, season to taste, mix thoroughly and serve.

I hope you enjoy these ones, they always help turn a Mexican meal into a real feast! What are your favourite salsas? Let me know on Instagram (@OTCooks_Eats), and give us a follow while you’re there. Thank you all for the support on the account/blog recently aswell – really appreciate the love.

OT

x

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