The Heat is On

Story and photo by Bambi Edlund

The concept of gestalt refers to individual elements combining to become more than the sum of their parts. The principle is most commonly referenced in terms of psychology or visual design, but I often think of it when cooking. Magic happens when certain flavours come together in just the right amounts—the resulting combination of texture and taste becomes something else entirely. Peanut butter and chocolate. Bacon and eggs. Butter on fresh corn. Separately they may be delicious, but together they sing.

For me, however, nothing beats the combination of tomatoes, peppers, onion, cilantro and lime. Not only do they blend together to form a single harmonious flavour fiesta, but if you close your eyes, the resulting concoction can whisk you to Mexico. Now that’s what I call more than the sum of its parts.

Many years ago I sat eating piping hot tortilla chips and fresh salsa under the late afternoon Mexican sun, marveling at the simple perfection. My companion, a Mexican friend, told me that true salsa fresca has only five ingredients, and that it is a sacred combination, not to be messed with. I believed him. And for 20 years I have been regularly and religiously making salsa fresca using only those five ingredients, just like his grandmother makes it. (Plus a healthy dose of salt, of course—that goes without saying in Mexico, as in my kitchen.) The result is sublime, it lasts for several days, and—in yet another example of the harmonious nature of Mexican food—the juice from salsa fresca can be mashed into ripe avocadoes for the most delicious guacamole imaginable. Impossible to improve on such perfection, right?

Well, as loyal as I am to my salsa fresca, I couldn’t resist taking it to another level. I decided to try grilling the main ingredients on the barbeque, to make a different style of salsa by adding yet another staple of Mexican cooking: the distinct flavour of food roasted over an open flame. The resulting salsa is quite different from the freshly-grown taste of salsa fresca, but it is equally delicious with crisp tortilla chips and guacamole, and the flavour is every bit as transporting (perhaps even more so, if you’ve had the good fortune of eating in a dusty roadside tacqueria, where everything is cooked on a large grill over licking flames).

The best part of all: it’s incredibly simple. Throw the prepared ingredients on a hot grill, leave them until they’re cooked through and a little charred, chop them up and toss with a little cilantro, salt and lime. Can’t go wrong.

If you want to get more adventurous, here are a few other ingredients that can be grilled and tossed in the mix: (Be sure your grill is well-seasoned to avoid sticking, or brush a little olive oil on each item to keep it from becoming a permanent part of your barbecue’s landscape.)

corn: roast full cobs until golden, then stand on end and slice the kernels off. Add to the rest of the ingredients for a slightly sweeter and more robust salsa.

pineapple: grill in large slices, then chop into smaller pieces once cool enough to touch—pineapple can replace the tomatoes for a sweeter, more acidic salsa, fantastic with steak or spooned on a grilled burger. (As a bonus, the enzymes in pineapple aid in the digestion of meat.)

peaches: a delicious replacement for the tomatoes in salsa, great with grilled fish or lamb. Try adding some fresh ginger root for extra zing.

watermelon: sounds odd, but try it—grilled, it becomes denser, less sweet and slightly smoky, and pairs wonderfully with the spicy peppers. Use instead of tomatoes. Try mint instead of cilantro—it pairs nicely with the watermelon.

avocado: the outside gets slightly crunchy, the inside becomes molten, with a nutty flavour. Serve with a spoonful of salsa on top, or mash with salsa juice and a sprinkling of salt for a mighty tasty guacamole.

quesadillas: toss a corn tortilla on the grill, top with shredded Monterey Jack or a Mexican-style melting cheese (asadero and Oaxaca can be found in many Lower Mainland grocery stores) and top with another tortilla. Grill for three to four minutes on each side.

Salsa Recipes here: