|
The Secret of the Mexican Sauce
The key to the rewarding, full-flavor of Mexican sauces and other dishes is in the preparation of the ingredients. And this preparation is time-consuming. All spices, seeds, and nuts are roasted in lard and ground (traditionally) with a mortar and pestle (known as molcajete and tejolote just before they are used in the sauce). Garlic, onions, tomatoes,
and tomatillos are roasted on a dry griddle before being peeled and cooked. Chiles also require various prefatory stages before they are ready to be used. Some are charred or roasted; many are then soaked.
The seeds and veins of some chiles have to be carefully removed before they are tolerable. Sometimes the chile seeds themselves are roasted on their own. Once a sauce is assembled, the cook will "fry the sauce" yet again to bring out its fully
integrated flavor.
|
