Summer’s coming. There’ll be lots of dinners centered around the grill. Cinco de Mayo will be upon us in no time. Beach vacations await. You’ve dozens of reasons to pick up some tangy and spicy sauces for dipping and cooking.
Chimole and Corn Chips from Sabor Provisions
Meet Brenda Saravia of Gainesville-based Sabor Provisions at a local farmers market and she’ll be standing behind a tempting array of empanadas, pastelitos and jars of the sauces and relishes that reflect the tastes of her Honduras heritage. One of her favorites, and now ours, is Chimole, a mild relish made from red onions, tomatoes and bell peppers and bright with cilantro, lemon and cumin. It’s used as a sauce to serve with everything from savory pastelitos to fried tostones. While you’re at the market, you’ll sample the Chimole with her fried corn chips which are unlike any others we’ve tried. They’re flaky and lightly sweet and pretty darn perfect with the brightness of her sauces.
$12 per 12-ounce jar. $5 per 6-ounce bag of corn chips. Available at the Marietta Square, Roswell, Flower Branch, Braselton and Suwanee farmers markets. facebook.com/Saborprovisions/
Salsa #Verde from Hopes Salsa
For the moment, James Lee and Manny Duran of Doraville-based Hopes Salsa are keeping it simple. They make just one salsa, #Verde. It’s a refreshing combination of just six ingredients: tomatillos, jalapenos, onions, cilantro, salt and garlic. We found it to be really bright and fresh-tasting with just the right level of heat. Spoon it into the cavity of an avocado, dollop it on top of your eggs, stir it into your grits, pour it on top of grilled chicken and, yes, scoop it up with chips (they recommend El Milagro). They named the company after Duran’s mom, Esperanza. (“Esperanza” is Spanish for “hope.”) And it’s only fitting they named the company after her since it’s her recipe they tweaked and made their own. We hear there’s a red salsa in the works and an avocado-based version as well.
$6 per 16-ounce jar. Available at many farmers markets including Grant Park, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Green Market at Piedmont Park, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs or at the Candler Park Market and Grant Park Market. Also available online at hopessalsa.com/.
Mole Rojo from 100% Salsas
Marco Martinez of Atlanta-based 100% Salsas tells us the company’s best-selling salsas are Salsa Roja (red salsa) and Salsa Verde (green salsa). But the product he’s proudest of? It’s his deeply flavored Mole Rojo. “Mole is our most popular sauce in Mexico. My great grandmother's recipe has been in our family for many generations. It takes me and my staff about thirteen hours to make each batch. One single shortcut and you can ruin the whole recipe.” How could we resist giving it a try? What we discovered is a dark red sauce. Open the container and you immediately smell the complex aroma of cocoa and peppers. It’s a little bit hot, a little bit bitter. This is not a salsa for scooping. If you’re not accustomed to it, mole can be a surprise. But the rich smoky flavor would pair perfectly with roasted meats. We’re going to try it with roast chicken and if there’s any left over, we’ll serve it with some of 100% Salsas’ tamales.
$4.99 per 8-ounce container. Available at Whole Foods Market and the Marietta Square farmers market. 100artisanfoods.com/.
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