As many of you know, I live in Canada. In normal times, I would travel back home at least once a year, and if I was lucky, twice a year. With this pandemic, travel has unfortunately come to a grinding halt, and I have not been back home for almost two years now! Obviously, I am extremely homesick and miss my family terribly, but almost on par with that, I miss the food supplies I bring back with me every time I go back home.
Amongst those supplies, is a brand of salsa called Botanera. Salsa Botanera is made right in Monterrey, and it is by far my most favourite brand of bottled salsa in the whole wide world. That is not a statement I make lightly! Everyone that knows me will tell you I am “exigente”, or what you would know as demanding, picky or exacting. Now, that does not mean that I don’t like all kinds of stuff, and if you put food in front of me I will gladly eat it, but in terms of what I REALLY like, I admit I am a bit particular. This salsa is one of those things. No other bottled salsa is like Botanera for me. The taste is spicy, sour, salty… all those things I love. I can say the Mexican palate craves that - hot, sour and salty. And when it comes to snacking, those are the flavours we want.
To understand this concept, you have to know that Mexicans as a culture love snacking. Anything that will tide you over until the big meal is a welcome thing. These afternoon snacks are for the most part healthy, like munching on mango, carrot and jícama sprinkled with powdered chile and lime juice, or sliced oranges with the same topping. But… there is another kind of snacking that we absolutely love, that is more on the less healthy side - tostadas, chips or peanuts doused in salsa, lime juice and salt. You cannot possibly understand this, but the thought of those ingredients make our mouths water. There is nothing like it! We grow up with these flavours and they are imbedded in our DNA, I swear!
So…. all this to say that since I have not been able to go home in so long, my supply of Salsa Botanera is almost gone, so in an act of utter desperation, I have created this recipe. I made it a few times to get it to where I want it to be and it is pretty darn close to the commercial kind. I am very pleased with the results and the best thing is I know exactly what’s in it.
I have added a couple of notes after the recipe if you wish to make this less spicy or to allow for substitutions. In any case, this salsa is not for the faint hearted, as it is spicy, but give it a try and I hope you enjoy it. Then grab some tostadas, rub with lime juice and top with some salsa and a sprinkle of salt. You will feel like a Mexican after one bite!
Salsa Botanera
30g chile de árbol - approx. 50 chiles
1 chile guajillo
2 Tbsp whole chile piquín
1 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt, or more to taste
3 cups water, divided
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp cornstarch
Remove stems and seeds from half the arbol chiles (unless you want a very spicy salsa). Remove the stem and seeds from the guajillo chile. Place chiles de arbol, guajillo and piquín in medium saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Allow to cool to lukewarm.
Remove chiles from water and place in blender jar. Measure your soaking liquid and add some more water to make 3 cups. Place in blender with rehydrated chiles. Add vinegar, lime juice, garlic powder and onion powder along with salt to the mixture. Blend until completely smooth.
Wash out the saucepan and place a sieve over it. Pour salsa through sieve and press on solids to strain salsa. Turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Make a slurry with ¼ cup water and the cornstarch and add to the boiling salsa. Whisk briskly and cook until salsa thickens somewhat. It will not be too thick, it will just not be runny. Taste for salt and adjust if necessary. Let cool completely and then pour into bottles.
Keep refrigerated.
* If you only have powdered piquín chile, then just add it to the mixture in the blender, do not cook it in the water.
* If you want to tame the spice even more, discard soaking liquid and add 3 cups fresh water to the blend, instead of using the chile soaking liquid.
Makes 1 litre.