Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (8 page)
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Even at the peak of tomato season, fresh tomato salsas can be inconsistent and less than stellar. Complicating matters, salsa’s popularity has opened the door to versions employing extravagant and extraneous ingredients. We wanted a fresh, chunky salsa cruda that would emphasize the tomatoes. To solve the problem of watery salsa, we drained diced tomatoes in a colander. This put all tomatoes, regardless of origin, ripeness, or juiciness, on a level—and dry—playing field. Red onions were preferred over other varieties for color and flavor. Jalapeño chiles beat out the alternatives because of their wide availability, slight vegetal flavor, and moderate heat. Lime juice tasted more authentic (and better) than red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or lemon juice. We investigated the best way to combine the ingredients and rejected all but the simplest technique: We layered each ingredient (chopped) on top of the tomatoes while they drained in the colander. Once the tomatoes were ready, it all just needed a few stirs before being finished with the lime juice, sugar, and salt.
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
For more heat, include the jalapeño seeds and ribs when mincing. The amount of sugar and lime juice to use depends on the ripeness of the tomatoes. The salsa can be made 2 to 3 hours in advance, but hold off adding the lime juice, salt, and sugar until just before serving. This salsa is perfect for tortilla chips, but it’s also a nice accompaniment to grilled steaks, chicken, and fish.
1¹⁄ | pounds tomatoes, cut into ¹⁄ |
¹⁄ | cup finely chopped red onion |
¹⁄ | cup chopped fresh cilantro |
1 | large jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced |
1 | small garlic clove, minced |
2–6 | teaspoons lime juice (1 to 2 limes) |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
Pinch pepper | |
Sugar |
1.
Set large colander in large bowl. Place tomatoes in colander and let drain 30 minutes. As tomatoes drain, layer onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic on top.
2.
Shake colander to drain off excess tomato juice. Discard juice; wipe out bowl.
3.
Transfer tomato mixture to bowl. Add 2 teaspoons lime juice, salt, and pepper and toss to combine. Add sugar to taste and additional lime juice to taste before serving.
TOMATOES—SKIP THE FRIDGE, PLEASE
We never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Cold damages tomatoes in two ways: It destroys an enzyme that produces flavorful compounds, and it makes water in the tomato expand, rupturing cells and turning the flesh mealy. But what about storing a partially used tomato? We cut a dozen ripe tomatoes in two, stored half of each in the fridge, and kept the other half at room temperature (both were wrapped tightly in plastic wrap). After a few days, the halves at room temperature had begun to soften, while the refrigerated halves were still as firm as the day they were cut. Upon tasting, however, we found the refrigerated halves were bland and mealy compared with the never-refrigerated halves. Our advice? Keep cut tomatoes tightly wrapped at room temperature and consume them within a few days. The shelf life gained by refrigeration doesn’t make up for the loss in flavor and texture.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
When we’re considering a quick snack of chips and salsa or a topping for our ultimate nachos, we don’t want to settle for the watery, overprocessed jarred stuff, especially when we can make a far better option from scratch in a few minutes. For a salsa that avoids the hassle of chopping multiple vegetables and herbs, we turned to the food processor. After a few tests, we happily discovered this salsa tastes just fine, and still beats out the commercial varieties, when made with canned diced tomatoes.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
This quick salsa can be made with either fresh or canned tomatoes, but if you’re using fresh, make sure they are sweet, ripe, in-season tomatoes. If they aren’t, canned tomatoes are a better choice.
¹⁄ | small jalapeño chile or ³⁄ |
¹⁄ | small red onion |
2 | tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves |
2 | teaspoons lime juice |
1 | small garlic clove, minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
Pinch pepper | |
2 | small tomatoes (12 ounces), cored and cut into eighths, or 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained |
Pulse all ingredients except tomatoes in food processor until minced, about 5 pulses, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Add tomatoes and pulse until roughly chopped, about 2 pulses. Serve.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Most guacamole recipes sacrifice the extraordinary character of the avocados by adding too many other flavorings, and the texture of these dips is usually reduced to an utterly smooth, listless puree. We wanted to highlight the buttery texture and nutty flavor of the avocado; any additions needed to provide bright counterpoints to the avocado without overwhelming it. Neither pureeing in a food processor nor mashing all the avocados at once—two commonly used methods—gave us guacamole with the right texture. Instead, mashing one of the avocados lightly with a fork and mixing it with most of the other ingredients, then gently mixing in the remaining avocados, broke down the cubes just enough to make an appealingly chunky yet cohesive dip. Restraint when incorporating additional ingredients was key. We added just enough onion, garlic, cumin, and jalapeño to lend balance and depth to our dip without overwhelming the starring ingredient. Acidity, in the form of lime juice, was a necessity, not only for flavor but also to help preserve the mixture’s green color.
MAKES
2¹⁄
2
TO 3 CUPS
To minimize the risk of discoloration, prepare the minced ingredients first so they are ready to mix with the avocados as soon as they are cut. Ripe avocados are essential here. To test for ripeness, try to flick the small stem off the end of the avocado. If it comes off easily and you can see green underneath it, the avocado is ripe. If it does not come off or if you see brown underneath after prying it off, the avocado is not ripe. If you like, garnish the guacamole with diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro just before serving.
3 | avocados |
¹⁄ | cup minced fresh cilantro |
2 | tablespoons finely chopped onion |
1 | small jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced |
1 | garlic clove, minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cumin (optional) |
Salt | |
2 | tablespoons lime juice |
1.
Halve 1 avocado, remove pit, and scoop flesh into medium bowl. Mash flesh lightly with cilantro, onion, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, if using, and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon salt with fork until just combined.
2.
Halve, pit, and cube remaining 2 avocados. Add cubes to bowl with mashed avocado mixture.
3.
Sprinkle lime juice over cubed avocado and mix lightly with fork until combined but still chunky. Season with salt to taste and serve. (Guacamole can be covered with plastic wrap, pressed directly onto surface, and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Return to room temperature, removing plastic wrap at the last moment, before serving.)
AVOCADOS—FROM ROCK-HARD TO RIPE
Avocados have a notoriously small window for ripeness. You’ll almost never find perfectly ripe avocados from the supermarket on the day you want to use them, so it pays to think—and shop—ahead. We’ve tested various ways to ripen avocados, but in the end, we’ve found that the only thing that matters is the temperature at which the avocados are stored. In our tests, rock-hard avocados at room temperature ripened within two days, but many of them ended up ripening unevenly, developing soft spots and air pockets on one side just as the other side was ripening. After completely ripening, they lasted two days on average if kept at room temperature (stored in the fridge after ripening, they lasted five days). Avocados ripened in the refrigerator, whether in a bag or out in the open, took around four days to soften, but did so evenly. Stored in the fridge, they lasted a full five days before starting to show signs of overripening. The bottom line: If you need your avocados to ripen sooner rather than later, keep them on the counter. Otherwise, for better quality, you’re better off putting them in the fridge and allowing them to ripen slowly. In either case, store the ripened fruit in the fridge to extend shelf life.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
With the help of prepackaged shredded cheese, jarred salsa, and the microwave, nachos have turned into bland, subpar snack food. We set a few standards for our revamped recipe. First, the chips should be crisp and hot, not lukewarm, soggy, or charred. Ten minutes in a 400-degree oven produced warm, toasted chips and perfectly melted cheese (cooler ovens dried out the chips; hotter ovens and the broiler burnt them). Second, there should be no shortage of cheese; a chip without cheese is not a nacho. We settled on using a full pound of cheddar. To ensure that all of the chips got good coverage, we found it was best to layer the chips and cheese; tossing them together broke the chips and sent much of the cheese to the bottom of the dish. Layering the jalapeños along with the cheese ensured good heat in every bite. Third, minimalism has no place in a great plate of nachos. In addition to abundant cheese, we topped our recipe with ample amounts of salsa and guacamole. Using fresh, homemade versions of these garnishes made all the difference.