Trio of Mexican Dips

Hi everyone! 4^th of July is coming soon, and we’ve been invited of our good friend’s soon-to-be world-famous enchiladas. I don’t know what they will be needing us to bring, but I thought I’d practice making my trio of Mexican dips. It’s been a while since I whipped them up.

My garden isn’t going to be much help with these dips. My tomatoes are not much larger than cherry tomatoes, and since a couple of the dips call for peeled, seeded tomatoes, my tiny tomatoes would be really labor intensive without yielding much tomato flesh. I prefer to use Roma tomatoes. They peel really well, and they don’t have a lot of seeds to begin with. I always get a lot of firm tomato flesh which works well in these dishes.

If you have never peeled and seeded a tomato, there isn’t much to it. You can easily peel the tomatoes by cutting an X on the bottom of the tomatoes and then covering them with boiling water for about 3 minutes. Take them out of the water and immediately plunge them into ice cold water to stop the cooking. The skin will peel off easily. Cut them in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon or your fingers.

One thing I will be using from my garden is the Serrano peppers. I’ve got a lot of them that are just begging to be used in something.

The recipes call for roasted, peeled and seeded peppers, and this isn’t that difficult either.

If you have a gas stove, put the chiles on a skewer and roast them over the open flame of a gas stove burner until the skin blisters and darkens. If you don’t have access to an open flame, place the chiles in a dry frying pan over medium heat, turning them frequently, until the skin blisters and darkens. Either way, after the skin is blistered and darkened, place the chiles in a zip lock bag, close the top, and set aside for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you will be able to easily peel off the skin. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. If you use your fingers to remove the seeds, it’s best to wear rubber gloves, and remember not to touch your eyes! Cut up the peppers as the recipes call for and set aside.

Here are the recipes I used for the trio of dips:

Tomato and Cilantro Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

3 good size Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 roasted, seeded Serrano chiles, roughly chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
½ tsp salt

Instructions

After roughly chopping the tomatoes, put them in a bowl and set them aside.

Finely chop the onion. Place the onion in a bowl with the lime juice and chopped tomatoes.

Remove the chiles from the bag and peel off the skins. Cut off the tops, slit the chiles longways and scrape out the seeds. Roughly chop the chiles and add them to the bowl.

Roughly chop the cilantro and add most of it to the bowl, reserving a bit for garnish. Add the salt to the bowl and mix well. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before service to allow the flavors to meld.

I’ve heard this pico will keep in the fridge for at least a week, but I run out way before that, so I can’t confirm it.

Easiest Spicy Queso with Chiles

Ingredients

½ cup heavy cream
8 oz processed cheese, cut into cubes (original, or use Mexican flavored for an extra kick)
4 oz grated pepper jack cheese
10 oz can chopped tomatoes and green chili combination
2 roasted serrano peppers, diced

Instructions

Put the heavy cream, processed cheese and grated pepper jack into a small sauce pan. Cook them over medium low heat until all the cheese is melted and combined, stirring often. Once the cheese is melted, turn off the burner and stir in the can of tomatoes and green chilis and the diced roasted serrano peppers. Serve while warm. You can continue to warm up the dip in the microwave, about 20 seconds per cycle, as needed to keep it warm.

I have to admit that I love to add sautéd chorizo into my queso, but I have a lot of friends that don’t eat any meat other than chicken or fish, so I left it out of this one.

Garlicky Guacamole

Ingredients

2 lg peeled, seeded Roma tomatoes
2 good size ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lime
½ onion
4 cloves garlic (more or less, depending on your garlic tolerance)
Bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
2 roasted, seeded Serrano chiles
½ tsp salt

Instructions

Roughly chop the peeled tomatoes and set aside.

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop the flesh out of the shells and place in a bowl. Use a fork to smooth out the avocado chunks. Stir the lime juice into the avocado.

Chop the onion finely and mince the garlic. Add both to the avocado and mix well.

Cut the tops off the chiles, slit them lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Finely chop the chiles and add them to the avocado mixture, along with the tomatoes. Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a tight lid and chill for an hour before serving so the flavors meld. Guacamole will only last a couple of days in the fridge, but in this household, it’s always gone before that.

All you need is a bag of tortilla chips to put out with the dips. Sometimes I also put out crudité, just in case someone wants to behave themselves. You can also put out soft tortillas, in case someone wants to roll it up with the dip inside.

I’m excited to find out what I will be bringing to the party on the 4^th!