Texas history and Mexican history are deeply entwined, but Mexican culinary traditions are so much richer than Tex-Mex!
Mexican cuisine is as varied as the country’s landscape, with flavors ranging from the moles of Oaxaca, to the tacos and barbacoa of the Central Plains, to the fresh seafood specialties on the Pacific and Gulf coasts. One thing you’ll find in every region of Mexico is salsas. These, too, are much more varied than the jarred products sold at grocery stores in the US. Made fresh, using techniques like fire roasting and hand blending in a molcajete, a volcanic-stone mortar and pestle, authentic Mexican salsas (“sauces”) bring accent or contrast to the flavors of other dishes.
SFC Farmers’ Market Vendor, Ricardo Cruz from El Cruz Ranch & Cafe, recently taught a Mexican Salsas class with us in our Teaching Kitchen. Using ingredients he grew on his ranch, Ricardo shared a few of his family’s salsa recipes and explained the history of how the recipe came into being. Below is one of the recipes from his class. You can taste Rick’s family recipes at his food trailer on Wednesdays at the SFC Farmers’ Market at the Triangle.