Lots of chopping, but worth it.

I was strolling through the farmer’s market a few weeks ago and there was this stall that had really nice, fresh tomatillos and right next to it they were selling bags of assorted peppers. They were basically begging me to buy both, chop them up, season it, and put it on a chip.

I was a bit worried that this would be too bitter as tomatillos can be kind of bitter, but it was actually nice. It was a lot different than a normal pico de gallo recipe, but sometimes different is good!

Pico de Gallo Verde

Yield: 2-3 cups

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound tomatillos, diced
2 jalapenos
Assorted peppers. I used a poblano, some red peppers, and a few peppers that I have no idea what they are called
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lime, juice only
Salt and pepper
2 Avocados (for a guacamole that's out of this world)

Directions:

1) Wash everything, dice it up, and add it to a bowl with the lime juice and a pinch of salt.

2) Make a fantastic guacamole by mushing up two avocados and mixing in a good amount of the pico de gallo.

The Tomatillos

These are strange little things. If you’ve never worked with them before they come with a almost papery wrapper around them. They’re also a bit sticky.

Kind of weird.

Strange fruit.

Tomatillos have two main traits to them: they’re crunchy and they’re bitter. Both of these work great in a salsa luckily.

Once you get all the paper wrappers off of the tomatillos, they’re actually easier to chop than tomatoes because they hold together nicely.

I was skeptical that this would work.

If you wanted I guess you could put everything in a food processor, but I decided to just chop everything by hand. I wanted to make sure I had a nice chunky texture to it and sometimes I have a heavy hand with the food processor and end up with more of a paste than a salsa.

It doesn’t take long to dice up the tomatillos though.

This needs some help.

The Peppers

I’m very serious when I say that the stand at the farmer’s market was just selling bags of random peppers. I could identify some of them, but some were a mystery to me. No matter what though, I knew they’d be great in a salsa.

Assorted delicious peppers.

Anytime you’re using peppers that you don’t know, I really recommend trying a very tiny (very tiny!) bite of them raw. You want to make sure that your end result isn’t too hot to eat or not hot enough. I tried every single one of these peppers and there was luckily a really nice mix of hot ones and mild ones. So I just used all of them!

If you aren’t lucky enough to find a random assortment of peppers, you can use your favorite from the store. I recommend getting some different colors and heat levels just for a good mix.

I chopped up some garlic also.

You could go with crushed if that's your thing.

One key to remember about peppers: If you use the seeds and white interior parts of the peppers, your end salsa will be much spicier. So if you want to cut down the heat, take out the seeds and white interior part. Again, I went the moderate route here and seeded some of my peppers but left the seeds in some as well.

Add some lime juice and salt and you’re all set!

All in the bowl!

This pico had a serious bite to it, but I really liked it. It got even better on day two once all the flavors melded even more.

Sexy chip shot.

The thing about this pico is that it’s difficult to eat a lot of it because the tomatillos are almost aggressively bitter. I like that kind of thing, but it might be too much for some people.

The solution to this bitter problem (if it’s a problem for you) is to mix in some of this pico into 2 mushed avocados. The creaminess from the avocados cuts the bitterness of the tomatillos perfectly. I didn’t photograph it, but this stuff made some of the best guacamole I’ve ever had.

At the end of the day, it’s really hard to go wrong with fresh pico de gallo. It’s the perfect thing for a summer day.

I think I finally found that way!

This was a big bowl of awesome.

Betsy and I love going out for Tex-Mex and it’s a guarantee that we will get the largest queso they serve as a appetizer. We were recently in Austin, TX (home of Tex-Mex) and went out to eat at this joint called Magnolias. They had this awesome version of queso called “Mag mud.” It was a silky smooth cheese dip plus avocados, fresh salsa and black beans. The idea is that you mix everything together to form a “mud” and then devour it.

Macheesmo Mud

Yield: Serves 4.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

Basic Pico de Gallo
4 medium tomatoes, quartered, de-seeded, and diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1-2 jalapenos, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 limes, juice only
2-4 Tablespoons of cilantro, diced (optional)
Salt to taste

Queso Dip:
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Cups heavy cream (You could use Half and Half or whole milk if you want to be all... healthy.)
8 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
6-8 ounces cheddar, shredded
1 5 ounce can diced green chiles (optional)
Avocados (opt.)
Black Beans (opt.)
Salt to taste

Directions:

1) Make the pico de gallo by chopping and adding ingredients together in a bowl. Leave out the tomato seeds from the mix!

2) Melt butter in saucepan and get it bubbling over medium heat.

3) Whisk in flour and make sure it is mixed well with the butter.

4) Keep whisking it for a few minutes and it will eventually start to turn a light brown color.

5) Turn the heat down to low and slowly add about a quarter cup of cream at a time and whisk furiously while you’re adding it.

6) Add two kinds of cheeses a few handfuls at a time and combine them well.

7) Quickly heat up a can of drained beans with a few Tablespoons of butter.

8) Pour the queso in a big bowl and pile in the toppings!

I immediately proclaimed that there was NO WAY this place used processed cheese for their queso. I had absolutely no evidence to support this and, in fact, they may be the #1 purchaser of Velveeta in the country. I really have no idea. The point is that the dip was awesome and it reinvigorated my quest to master the non-processed queso dip.

Embarrassment

Have you ever been so set on something that you try 4 or 5 different failed methods only to later realize that the simplest method is, of course, the best? That happened to me with this.

I tried a few different methods and tricks and gimmicks to get normal cheese to that creamy smooth silky texture that I know and love. Of course, the easiest answer was to just make a really thick béchamel sauce. Blinded by obsession, I didn’t think about this as an answer until I researched it (via the Google).

Back up the train

Ok, but before you get to the queso dip, you need to make the pico de gallo for this dish. That’s because the pico will actually improve the longer it sits… not the case with the queso.

Pico is important.

Making the Pico

This is a really basic fresh salsa. Feel free to add other things to it to fit your fancy. Basically just dice up all the ingredients.

For the tomatoes, I like to wash out the seeds for this purpose. Then just dice them up. No need to peel them even.

Just the tomato flesh for this.

This will be some good chopping practice, but you’ll end up with a really solid pico de gallo.

Pretty good as is.

The Queso

There are lots of advantages, in my opinion, to learning how to make queso this way if you’re a fan of queso. For one, you can customize it with different cheeses and spices once you get the method down. Secondly, once the queso is made, it’s a lot sturdier than the processed variety which always forms that gross film and gets solid pretty fast.

This dip is sturdy and will maintain its dip viscosity (SCIENCE!) even at basically room temperature.

If I were just making this queso and not planning on topping with other things, I would maybe add some cayenne or hot sauce, some tomato, and maybe even a dash of Worcestershire.

Cheese sauce. Deconstructed!

Making the Queso

Ok. All you really need to make fantastic queso is a medium saucepan, a whisk, and a roux. A roux is just a mixture of flour and fat (normally equal parts) that will thicken up our liquid. The important part about a roux is you need to cook it before you add any liquid to it to cook out the flour taste and grainy texture.

Remember, a little roux goes a long way.

To start, melt your butter in your sauce and and get it bubbling over medium heat. Then whisk in your flour and make sure it is mixed well with your butter. Keep whisking it for a few minutes and it will eventually start to turn a light brown color.

Now you could let this continue to cook and form a really dark roux (which has a very nutty flavor), but we want a lighter product for this sauce. Just whisk it until your roux is a light tan color.

Important step. The most important step is to slowly add your cream to this roux. If you add it all at once, you’ll form little flour dumplings and you’ll never ever be able to un-dumpling them. Slowly add about a quarter cup of cream at a time and whisk furiously while your adding it.

Once you add about half your cream, you should have a very thick creamy sauce and then you can pour in your last cup of cream without worry. Keep whisking though! Turn your heat down to low at this point or your cream will scorch.

You should have a pretty thick sauce at that point, but if not, just let it cook for a few minutes and it will continue to thicken.

Now that you have your base, add your two kinds of cheeses a few handfuls at a time and combine them well. They should melt right into your mixture.

You should end up with a beautiful, silky sauce.

Not bad!

What about the beans?!

I wanted to make some black beans for my Macheesmo Mud to mimic the version I had in Austin. I just quickly heated up a can of drained beans with a few Tablespoons of butter to take the place of the lard that is usually used with refried beans.

When they were warm, they were ready and delicious.

Beans and butter baby.

Next just pour your queso in a big bowl and pile in your toppings! If you need help with the avocado, check out my avocado instructional.

Of course, you’ll want to just mix it all together eventually.

I have no words for how good this is.

Ok. So I’ll admit that the version I made for these photos was a tad bit runny. I don’t think I used enough roux to start the dish (I only used 1 Tablespoon of flour and butter instead of the 2 I suggest above).

But the point is that I think I finally won the debate and created an awesome queso without relying on the microwave and mysterious substances that come in cardboard containers and foil wrap.

PS. I still do love Velveeta. Don’t tell Betsy though.

Eventually however, I will get hungry again and so will you. But I would advise that you treat the next few weeks as a re-coup period because what just happened is going to happen all over again in 3 weeks. So lets make something healthy and refreshing to start the week and month.

A light dish after a weekend of ughhhh.

This chicken breast is lightly marinated in olive oil, lime juice, and spices and topped with a home-made pico de gallo. I served mine with a side of quinoa, but you could also do couscous or rice.

Lime Pepper Chicken
- 2-6 chicken breasts (how many people are you feeding? I make the same marinate for 2 or 6.)
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon lime peel
- 1 Teaspoon dried thyme or basil (If you use fresh then up it to 1 Tablespoon)
- 1/2 Teaspoon ground pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cloves garlic minced

Pico de Gallo (I also make a lot of this because it keeps for a few days and it’s awesome)
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped.
- 1 red onion, chopped (I used a few shallots instead)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 jalepenos or other mild chile
- 4 Tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (adjust according to your love of cilantro. I love cilantro.)
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice

This is going to work out just fine.

Making the marinade couldn’t be easier. Just mix up your ingredients until they are combined and throw your chicken breasts in a sealed bag with the marinade for at least 30 minutes. Obviously, you could do longer. I like to make it in the morning and then by the time I get home it is ready to rock.

Thirty minutes of this and anything will taste amazing.

There are a few different ways you could cook these guys. The best way might be to grill them actually, but I don’t have grill access in the winter. I started them off in my iron skillet for about 4 minutes a side on high heat and then transferred them to the oven to finish at 350 for 15 minutes. If you are skeptical about whether they are done, it never hurts to slice into one to check. The last thing you want is to bite into a peppery, raw piece of chicken.

Oh. Right. The pico. Well, that’s simple enough. Just chop up all of those nice veggies and mix it up! The secret to good pico is that the longer you let it sit the better it will be (within reason).

If you make the pico first thing for this meal and let it sit while the chicken marinates it will be perfect.

I felt incredible after this meal. The wine helped.

As you can see, I like piling my pico so high you can barely even see the chicken, but trust me it is there and it goes perfectly with the fresh veggies. There is something about a dish like this that makes you wake up the next day with tons of energy.

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