Handmade Salsa & Tortilla Chips

 The one type of food that my husband and I missed when we lived in Arizona was good Chinese food.  There really weren't any good Chinese places to be found, and we tried a lot of them.  There were however an abundance of delicious Mexican restaurants serving up authentic and delectably spicy fare.  Now that we are in Washington, we have the opposite problem! There are a ton of wonderful Chinese places, in fact there's also Japanese, Thai, Laotian, Vietnamese, Asian Fusion, you name it we got it! But the Mexican restaurants seem few and far in between and the ones we have tried so far seem bland and boring compared to what we are used to.  So now I have made it my quest to create delectable and authentic Mexican food at home, starting with the most basic but utterly delicious homemade salsa and tortilla chips.  In this case, because it's a fresh uncooked salsa, it would be called Pico de Gallo or Salsa Mexicana. First, lets start with the salsa which should be made first so the flavors have time to meld and mingle.  

Salsa Mexicana with Homemade Tortilla Chips,
Recipe adapted from
"Authentic Mexican, Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico" by Rick Bayless

1 Large Ripe Tomato

2 Chiles Serranos

1 Small Onion

1 Clove Garlic

Handful of Fresh Cilantro

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

8 Corn Tortillas

Enough Vegetable Oil to Fill a Pot to a depth of 2 inches.

Salt

Finely dice the tomato, chiles, onion and garlic, taking care to wash your hands after dicing the chiles.  Otherwise you will get hot pepper juice on your face the next time you go to wipe the hair out of your eyes and a lovely burning fiery sensation will follow! Mix these finely diced veggies together, then chop up the cilantro and add that to the mix, and finally add the salt and lime juice.  Set aside and get ready to make the tortilla chips.

To make the tortilla chips cut the tortillas into wedges.  Heat the oil to a temperature of 380 degrees F in a large stockpot or dutch oven.  Once the oil has reached the proper temperature, add a handful of the tortilla wedges.  You don't want to add too many at a time, there should be enough room so the tortillas won't touch.  Stir the tortilla wedges constantly for 45 seconds to 1 minute until they are crisp, then remove them to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  At this point you can sprinkle them with salt if you like. Continue cooking the batches of tortilla wedges until they are all crisp and delicious, then serve them alongside your Salsa Mexicana, and enjoy!

What is your favorite Mexican Recipe?