April showers bring May flowers. Or in this case, a weekend of non-stop April showers brings plenty of time to put together a Five Days of Cinco de Mayo menu. Silver linings.
Since Cinco de Mayo is on a Sunday this year, I thought I would try posting the five recipes each day this week. This approach might actually give you a chance to make one -or all five – for May 5 should you so choose.
Last year, being the first time I attempted Five Days, I stuck with a few basics I wanted to try, like homemade black bean burgers and margarita floats. This year, I branched out a bit into dishes I have never tried. I am not yet sure which I prefer, but I suppose each are good in their own unique ways. Without further ado, first up is pumpkin seed salsa.
When I think of salsa, some sort of drippy sauce comes to mind. It might be thick, in the case of classic red salsa, or it might be thin, like salsa verde. Whatever the case, an effort must be made to keep that salsa on the chip and off of my shirt as I transfer it from the table to my mouth. This “salsa” does not meet that criteria. At all. It is actually quite thick and reminded more of hummus than salsa.
The taste, however, is quite nice. Saveur described it as “earthy”, and it might just be the first “earthy” flavor I actually like. I enjoyed mine with tortilla chips, but I think it would also make an excellent partner for the raw vegetables I just can’t quite enjoy without a coating of ranch (which sort of defeats the purpose of eating the vegetables.)
Speaking of vegetables, this recipe called for roasting tomatoes and peppers using nothing but the heat of a skillet. I had never heard of or attempted this before, but it turned out to be pretty obvious. Here is what Saveur had to say about the whole thing.
If you are eager to get started on a Cinco de Mayo menu of your own, my Cinco de Mayo board over on Pinterest should provide plenty of inspiration. Or visit the Cinco de Mayo page to see last year’s recipes. Until tomorrow, enjoy!
Day 1: The Appetizer Day 2: The Main Dish - Mexican Noodle Casserole Day 3: The Side Dish Day 4: The Drink Day 5: The Dessert- 1¼ cups raw pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas)
- 2 plum tomatoes, cored
- 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and cored
- 3 tablespoons cilantro
- 2 green onion
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir often to avoid burning. This should take about three minutes.
- Transfer the pumpkin seeds to a food processor and return the skillet to the heat.
- Place the tomatoes and the jalapeno in the skillet, turning as needed, to char their skins. This should take about seven minutes for the tomato and only five minutes for the pepper.
- While the vegetables are doing what they need to do in the skillet, return to the pumpkin seeds in the food processor and process until smooth, about 45 seconds.
- When the tomatoes and jalapeno are ready, transfer them to the food processor with the pumpkin seeds.
- Add the cilantro, green onion and salt and pulse until smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl to serve at room temperature with tortilla chips or other food of your choice.
