Sometimes these things just write themselves. Maybe I’ll find a recipe online and tweak it and present it. Sometimes I’ll dine somewhere and try to do a recreation. Other times, it’s a “Will this work?” and if it does – you see it. This one was kind of bizarre.
Was traveling for work and stopped off at at a Rick Bayless restaurant in the airport. It was $1.50 extra for the habanero salsa. The host told me not to order it unless I knew I could handle it. I assured him that not only could I, but that most restaurants advertise hot, and fail to deliver.
This one delivered, and here we are. Had to present it a little bit better, so we’re whipping up a beef & cheese taquito / flauta and going to work. Let’s see what it looks like.
The Prep Table
I ordered, I ate, and he came back around and was surprised I was still eating it. We had a short discussion and I told him I was going to re-create this salsa. He told me he would share the recipe. I told him it was more of a pureed habanero with some garlic and lime. And he told me I forgot about the salt. I got another cup of the salsa on the house, and he told me to make sure I roasted the habaneros and I flew back home. With a fire pit in my belly, and a future post in tow.
We’re going to throw some color on these and soften up the garlic. I had a hell of a time finding peppers in July. One shop around here had ghost peppers (before my travel) and I came back home and it’s been gone ever since. I’ve been waiting to get good ghost peppers for a number of recipes, I’m just going to have to grow ’em next year.
Anyway, the flautas are going to be pretty straight forward. I wanted some dipping sauces for my flauta adventure, so we’re going to do a quick avocado dip as well.
The Process
It was particularly warm this July afternoon, but never too warm to crank that RecTeq up. I’ve made tacos so many times, but never really just gathered the ingredients and used the RecTeq for everything. We’re going to brown the beef with some of my Taco seasoning then drain off the fat.
MrsForensicBBQ and I were shopping around and I couldn’t for the life of me find the serrano pepper I bought for my avocado dip. So I decided to keep it simple. If I had the serrano, I’d throw the roma tomato in there and make it more robust – but simple is simple.. and simple is good. This dip was very good, although basic.
Threw the ingredients into a mini processor and let it churn. Added salt as I tasted until it was good enough.
After being distraught after the habanero hunt – I went to the mexican market and they had orange and red habaneros. Bought a few of each and roasted them. Went hard with the mortar pestle and made – what I thought – would be the pureed habanero salsa from the airport. Just grind and grind.
When the beef was drained, I threw enough cheese in there to be noticed and to melt it up. While the meat was hot and the cheese was melted, I threw a corn tortilla on the RecTeq for about 10 seconds each side – just enough to soften them up. Filled the corn tortilla and threw some more cheese on there and rolled. Then it was back into the RecTeq until the tortillas got their color.
The Result
First thing first, I absolutely nailed that salsa. I would say to the exact pepper-to-garlic-to-salt ratio. Exactly as I remembered it (albeit one day later)
The flautas were also perfectly cooked. I was debating whether or not to do a deep-fry or bake. This year was the cast iron deep fry game.. and after a week away from home, I really didn’t want anymore unhealthy food. So baked (RecTeq’d) it was. And they were perfect. It was a crispy, but chewy bite. It was comfortable, and the dips really made it shine. Thanks to Rick Bayless for the inspiration, and the lad who engaged in fun conversation about a salsa in the airport.