Category: Condiments

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a condiment recipe so I thought it was about time to post one. This will be a great way to use up the tomatillos that I plan to successfully grow in my garden this year.

I love green sauce. If it’s a sauce and it’s green, I probably love it. But this particular green sauce is extra special.

Andrew actually made this salsa to serve with pork loin, which seems to always be on sale.

Anyway, here’s my recipe since I know that’s all you really want.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 pounds tomatillos, husks removed and cut in half
  • 1 medium white onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, cut in half
  • 15 sprigs cilantro, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

If you’ve never worked with tomatillos before, be not afraid. Peel off the dry skin just like you would with garlic or onion and then you’re left with the meaty interior that if you squint, looks like a small green tomato.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Ingredients

Directions:

  1. Place oven rack near top of the oven and preheat broiler to high.
  2. Put tomatillos, onion, and jalapeno on a baking sheet and broil until lightly blackened, or about 8-12 minutes.
  3. Transfer vegetables and as much juice as you can get into a blender. Add cilantro and pulse until you have a rough puree.
  4. Season with salt and serve hot or cold. If you’re feeling fancy, throw some more chopped cilantro on top.

I’ve been enjoying this lately with tortilla chips, but as I mentioned it does pair well with pork and I think it would be great in a burrito bowl or some such thing.

Enjoy.

Pickled Red Onions

A shocking development in the condiment world – onions that don’t taste icky and go well with pretty much everything. Read on for the latest in onion science.

I love condiments, in case you hadn’t noticed. But I hate onions. So liking this particular condiments came as a pleasant surprise when I first encountered it on a taco at Tacodeli in Austin. I don’t remember what taco – I want to say it was something with pork – but I remember they took it off their regular menu and it became the Wednesday special, but I also discovered I could just ask for pickled red onions to be added to any taco. And I was in heaven. I can’t see pickled red onions listed anywhere on their menu now, but that’s okay because I’ve been introduced to their wonder and am forever a better person for it.

Because now I know that they make a great crunchy, acidic taco topping, but they’re also great as a ramen topping, a garden salad topping, a salmon topping, or a sandwich ingredient. They can fill the gap in almost any meal that needs a little acid and crunch.

Oh, and for anyone that hates onions as much as me, try these anyway. The pickling process kills all the icky onionyness and turns them in to magic. Kinda like turning grapes into wine.

Anyway, here’s my recipe since I know that’s all you really want.

Ingredients:

  • 2 red onions, thinly sliced – I use this mandoline
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups hot water

I kept this batch of pickled red onions simple, but we occasionally spice it up at bit with dill, peppercorns, garlic, orange peel, or whatever. Get creative!

Pickled red onions ingredients

Directions:

  1. Pack sliced onions into a jar or container.
  2. Dissolve sugar and salt in hot water. Add vinegar.
  3. Pour liquid mixture over onions, fill to completely cover the onions. Extra liquid can be discarded or saved for another jar of pickles.
  4. Let sit for at least and hour.

Here they are freshly packed into a soup container but after they’ve had a day or so to sit, everything takes on a classy pink color.

Pickled red onions

Stay safe and sane.

PS. Here are some other condiment recipes you might want to check out as well:

Oregano Feta Pesto

Are you ready for another condiment recipe? This one is technically a pesto but works great as a raw veggie dip. Also great for using up excessive garden oregano, if you happen to have that problem.

If I can grow anything in the Downtown Luxury Slum garden, it’s oregano. My oregano plant is taking over everything. Sometimes I just go out there and chop some off to throw straight into the compost. We use it in pizza and pasta sauce and salad dressings and random experimental seasonings, but the thing with oregano is that a little goes a long way and the flavour often doesn’t commingle well with other flavours.

But it does go really well with feta and raw veggies. So I picked like 10 cups worth of oregano and got to work making an oregano feta pesto. This is a new recipe for me but I’ve made it 3 times now so I can promise it’s delicious and a good way to make use of oregano! It makes an absolutely awesome dip for raw veggies but I’ve also tried and can recommend eating it with grilled zucchini, mushrooms, and roasted broccoli, or spread on crackers or a sandwich. I’m pretty sure it would be great as a dip for pita (fresh or chips).

Anyway, here’s my recipe since I know that’s all you really want.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sheep feta
  • 1 cup fresh oregano leaves
  • 1 cup raw walnuts
  • 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh lemon juice is always going to be better, but you work with what you’ve got, you know?

Oregano Feta Pesto Ingredients

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine.

I suppose I should try it with pasta, as is traditional for pesto.

Oregano Feta Pesto

Stay safe and sane.

Zhug

I’ve got another recipe to share with you today to help you amp up your cooking and boring leftovers.

I’ve got another favourite condiment recipe to share with you today. I particularly like this one because it adds a ton of freshness to everything you serve it with, even if it’s been sitting in the fridge for weeks. And because it seems to stay good in the fridge for weeks and continue to taste fresh, it’s a lovely way to preserve fresh flavours between trips to the grocery store.

I pretty much keep this stuff on hand at all times. In addition to simply tasting really fresh, it’s also got a little kick. It tastes great with eggs so I love using it on breakfast sandwiches and honestly sandwiches of all types. It’s actually a pretty great way to improve anything that needs a little more flavor. Got some bland black beans – add zhug. Got some day old rice – add zhug. Found some leftover turkey in the freezer – add zhug. You won’t be disappointed.

Anyway, here’s my recipe since I know that’s all you really want.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 – 6 green Thai chilis, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup cilantro, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup parsley, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

You might notice a number of repeat ingredients from the dipping sauce recipe I shared last week so if you haven’t tried that yet, you could plan on making both next time you get groceries :).

Zhug ingredients

Directions:

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine.

If you’re feeling fancy, you can use whole spices and grind them freshly, but I’m usually a little too lazy for that kind of luxury. But I sometimes add a little lemon juice for a little extra brightness. It’s not much to look at, but the taste makes up for it, I promise.

Zhug

Stay safe and sane.