Our family loves tacos!  We crave them on a weekly basis.  We reminisce Baja and our favorite taco truck in the middle of  grungy Guerrero Negro by the big blue whale watching sign.  With the unlimited salsa selection, overwhelming as they are, we pile all of them on like we haven’t eaten in days.  each one has a specific flavor, spice, acidity, and texture.  This is what makes a taco a GREAT TACO!

So here are a couple salsas to start:

*All recipes are proportioned for 2-3 hungry people

Pico De Gallo

3 beautifully ripe tomatoes chopped

1/2 yellow onion diced

2 cloves garlic chopped fine

1 jalapeño chopped fine

handful of cilantro leaves chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 t. salt

mix well and let rest for a bit.

Pollo el diablo

Who doesn’t want to eat something that has “Devil” in it???

If you look this up on the internet – this recipe will be different.  in fact, This recipe is my devil chicken recipe.  I love authentic Mexican food, but some translated recipes are a little daunting…So many ingredients! Sheesh!

So my request is that you invest a little time and even a smaller amount of money and pick up some dried chiles,   (Ancho, cascabel, arbol, and pasillas, etc.)  Keep them in glass jars, air and light tight.  You’ll use these for salsas, molés, and other intensely flavored favorites.  Find your local Mexican market or spice shop and compare smells, the chocolaty flavor of the cascabel, or the tangy ancho.

Here’s a simple recipe…

Cook the chicken:

Boil a big pot of water.  Add a good handful of salt.  Add your chicken ( may it be a couple breasts, a half-a-hen, or a whole, cut in pieces). Put water to simmer and cook 20 mins.  Take chicken out and let cool.

For the sauce:

2 Dried ancho chiles

small handful of raisins

2-3 cloves garlic

1 t. sea salt

boiling water

3 shallots or 1 yellow onion (sliced thin)

Olive oil

Put first 4 ingredients into a blender or small food processor.  Pour boiling water over ingredients, about 1/2 C, and let rest so the chiles and raisons become soft.  Meanwhile, sauté the onion with a little Olive oil.  10-15 minutes so all the sugars release and caramelize…YUM!

Tear the meat from the bone of the chicken and shredded into bit size pieces.  It’s ok, use your impeccably clean hands.  Really, they are the best tool for something like this.

Blend your chile sauce, add to the pan of onions.  After a few stirs add the chicken.  Let it all blend together on very low heat for a few minutes.  Try it!  Totally hard to stop eating…I know.

Throw onto your warmed tortilla, spoon on the pico de gallo, all your fixings, and EAT!