How Nuts Can Transform Your Salsa
By Tommy Werner, Epicurious
I thought it was a mistake when I saw smoked cashew salsa on the menu. I still didn’t really believe it as I dipped a chip into the copper-colored sauce. It reminded me of peanut butter—what was it doing at Empellón Taqueria?
But not only was that smoked cashew salsa very real, it was also very delicious. So delicious that it eclipsed everything else I ate that evening. Did I even eat tacos that night? Who knows?
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The salsa stuck in my mind. So much so, in fact, that I decided to informally apprentice (in other words, work unpaid) in the restaurant’s kitchen—singeing my fingers on a taco griddle, learning how immersion circulators make for better pork tacos—all for the chance to see how that salsa actually worked. I emerged from that experience with a new understanding of what constitutes a salsa—and how using nuts can make them amazing.
SMOOTH NUT SALSAS
The reason your salsas aren’t coming out creamy, smokey, and rich? You’re not using nuts, and you’re not using a blender. A strong blender emulsifies fatty nuts with ingredients like tomatillos and chiles to create salsas that are rich, cohesive and smooth. For an example, it’s tough to beat a smoked cashew salsa I’m obsessed with, a combination of smoked cashews (bonus points if you jerry-rig a stovetop wood smoker and smoke them yourself) and canned chipotles.
CRUNCHY NUT SALSAS
Salsa macha, a potent, oil-based salsa, looks more like a chunky chile oil than the standard salsas you see in supermarket jars. And it’s ridiculously simple to make. Follow the same steps that Food Editor Rhoda Boone took to make our favorite garlic-infused oil: Heat a neutral oil on the stovetop with garlic, chipotles, and plenty of chopped nuts like almonds or hazelnuts. Finish off the oil with sugar and a little white vinegar, and spoon over grilled fajitas.
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NUTTY NUT SALSAS
For a salsa from way out of left field, we’re big fans of this oil, toasted nut, and blue cheese number. Don’t ask us how it’s a salsa—it’s definitely not for chips. But it’d be delightful on some of the grilled meats you’re making this summer.
More from Epicurious:
15 Foods on Sticks That Are Everything Great About Summer
14 No-Stress Ways to Cook Salmon
20 Must-Try Ways to Pair Items You Already Have In Your Pantry
PHOTO BY PEDEN + MUNK
