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Cascabel Pepper Salsa


Few gastronomies in the world can boast of such an extensive salsa recipe book as the one of the Mexican cuisine. This is partly due to the quantity of fresh and dried chilies that grow in Mexico. Another aspect to highlight is the great creativity that the Mexicans have to mix all that range of chilies with more ingredients; that’s how so many salsas are created.

Although the Mexican salsas are not always prepared with many ingredients and this salsa is an example of it. The curious thing is that although few ingredients are used a salsa with a lot of flavor is achieved.



Our protagonist is the cascabel pepper, is a dried chili with the form of a rattle and it has a smooth and hard skin. This type of chili has a discreetly spicy flavor and it has such an amount of seeds that when it is shaken it produces the sound of a sleigh bell – that’s where its name comes from.

In the preparation of the salsa the cascabel pepper is combined with other few ingredients that generate a strong salsa, moderately spicy and a bit acidic. When dishes are prepared with beef or fish don’t forget to prepare this salsa because it gives them a very good flavor.


About the Recipe

  • In this recipe some ingredients are roasted and then everything is blended; as you can see it is not complicated.
  • The only tip that we can give while picking the cascabel peppers is that they are not broken.
  • In the preparation tomatillos are also used and we recommend using the ones that have medium size because they are the best.
  • If you want the salsa can be prepared in molcajete and its consistency will be the best.
  • You will only need about 15 minutes to prepare the salsa.
  • The recipe is for 2 cups of salsa.


Ingredients

  • 5 Cascabel Peppers (.8 oz)
  • 8 Tomatillos (14.1 oz)
  • 2 Garlic cloves (.2 oz)
  • 1/2 tablespoon of Salt

  • Cookware

  • 1 Griddle
  • 1 Blender
  • 1 Measuring Cup
  • 1 Cutting Board
  • 1 Tongs
  • 1 Turner
  • 1 Knife

  • Directions

    Roast some Ingredients


    1. Put on a griddle over medium heat 8 tomatillos and roast them for about 2 minutes, until all their sides are lightly roasted; move them regularly with some tongs.
    2. Transfer from the griddle to a blender, with the tongs, all the tomatillos that were roasted; then reserve.
    3. Remove the seeds and the veins of 5 cascabel peppers. Upon completion discard the veins and reserve the cascabel peppers and the seeds.
    4. Put on the griddle over low heat the cascabel pepper seeds that were removed and roast them for about 30 seconds, until they are lightly roasted; stir regularly.


    Don’t roast the seeds for a long time because their flavor becomes bitter.


    1. Transfer from the griddle to the blender the seeds that were roasted, then reserve.

    Roast the Chilies and Blend


    1. Put on the griddle over medium heat the cascabel peppers with the ones you worked and roast them for approximately 1 minute 15 seconds, until all their sides are lightly roasted; move them regularly with the tongs.
    2. Transfer from the griddle to the blender, with the tongs, the cascabel peppers that were roasted.
    3. Also add in the blender:
    • 2 Garlic cloves.
    • 1/2 cup of Water (4.2 fl oz).
    • 1/2 tablespoon of Salt.


    1. Blend lightly the ingredients.



    A Delicious
    Mexican Salsa


    Variation: The catarina pepper is quite similar to the cascabel pepper and it also has its salsa.



    Did you like the Cascabel Pepper Salsa?  





    Beef and Fish


    Arrachera
    Grilled Steak
    Tacos al Carbon
    Veracruz Style Fish
    Achiote Shrimp Brochettes






    Buy some quality cascabel peppers like these ones.





    Try to prepare the salsa in a molcajete.





    The cup and ball toy is a very fun Mexican toy.