Salsa Ranchera

Salsa Ranchera

Condiment Food Gluten-free Mexican Recipe Salsa Vegetable Vegetarian

Unknown 03:00 Add Comment

Cinco de Mayo is quickly approaching and I have been thinking about recipes for it starting with this classic one for a salsa ranchera. Salsa ranchera, or ranch style salsa, is a salsa that is made with a base of roasted tomatoes and chilies that is typically served warm and it has a thick soup like consistency. Of course this recipe is best when made with perfectly ripened field tomatoes but for the rest of the year canned tomatoes, especially fire roasted canned tomatoes, work just as well! This salsa is so easy to make that you will never go back to store bought salsas. It's perfect for dipping with tortilla chips and used in other recipes! (For some ideas, look below the recipe!)

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Harissa

Harissa

Condiment Food Gluten-free Moroccan Recipe Salsa Vegetarian

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Harissa is a Tunisian hot chili sauce/paste that is gaining popularity in other countries and cuisines including Moroccan cuisine. It is typically made from piri piri chili peppers, garlic, coriander, caraway and oil and it is actually pretty easy to make at home. Although piri piri peppers are more traditional you can use pretty much any dried red chili peppers like cayenne, chilies de arbol, chipotle, guajillo so you can make harissa with whatever chili peppers that you have available. When I was first looking for harissa I could not find it so I decided to try making my own and I have been making it at home ever since! Once you have the base form of harissa down you can play around with if by changing up the peppers for different levels of heat and flavours in addition to adding other ingredients like tomatoes or roasted red peppers. I always enjoy experimenting with harissa and pretty much every batch that I make is different! I have included the recipes for a few of my favourites below including a traditional harissa, a harissa made with fresh red chili peppers along with roasted red peppers for some sweetness to balance the fiery heat and a Mexican style salsa roja take on harissa.

I use harissa in a number of recipes! Check out below for a list!

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Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce

Condiment Food Gluten-free Recipe Vegetarian

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Thick and creamy homemade caramel sauce is one of the most amazingly divine treats and it's super easy to make! You simply melt some sugar in a pan and simmer it until it starts to turn a nice amber colour before adding some cream and butter and optionally some flavours like vanilla or salt. After letting it cool a bit you are ready to go to use the caramel sauce on whatever you like from simply with apples to on melting vanilla ice cream to apple pies, etc. (Take a look below the recipe to find some ideas about what you can use it on!) The caramel sauce will keep in the fridge for months and it makes for a great present for the holidays! That is if you can bring yourself to part with it! My precious!

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Greek Style Salmon with Avocado Tzatziki

Greek Style Salmon with Avocado Tzatziki

Avocado Condiment Food Gluten-free Greek Low-carb Recipe Seafood

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Armed with my new batch of avocado tzatziki... Having devoured the first batch of avocado tzatziki with pita chips and by the spoonful I really wanted to make another batch and use it in a recipe! With the Greek style theme with the avocado tzatziki I was thinking of continuing with it and since I have been wanting to incorporate more fish into my diet and Greek style marinated salmon was looking like a great way to go! The salmon is marinated in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, yogurt, garlic and oregano and it's grilled, baked or broiled until just cooked before being served topped with the cool and creamy avocado tzatziki. Creamy avocado and buttery salmon were just meant for each other and with these flavours you really can't go wrong with this super easy and tasty dinner! I like to serve this greek style salmon with avocado tzatziki with a greek salad.

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Avocado Tzatziki Sauce

Avocado Tzatziki Sauce

Appetizer Avocado Condiment Dip Food Gluten-free Greek Low-carb Recipe Sauce Vegetarian

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I recently made some tzatziki sauce and while I was enjoying it I thought, wouldn't it be even better, even creamier with avocado? With that thought I just had to grab some avocados and add them to the tzatziki (which is a cucumber and yogurt salad or condiment that also typically includes garlic, lemon juice and fresh herbs) thereby creating avocado tzatziki! It may just be the avocado addict in me but the avocado tzatziki is so much better than the original and just look at that gorgeous green colour! This cool and creamy avocado tzatziki is the perfect side or condiment on a hot summer day!

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Creamy Avocado Dressing (aka Guacamole Buttermilk Dressing)

Creamy Avocado Dressing (aka Guacamole Buttermilk Dressing)

Avocado Best of 2013 eBook Condiment Dressing Food Gluten-free Low-carb Recipe Vegetarian

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For a new salad that I have been thinking about I wanted a nice and cool and creamy dressing and I was thinking about trying something a little bit different, an avocado dressing. I am so totally addicted to avocados and I am always looking for new ways to enjoy them! I was originally planning on including diced avocado in the salad but I liked the idea of a creamy avocado dressing even more. For the avocado dressing I was thinking about starting it off a lot like a guacamole with plenty of fresh ingredients like cilantro, lime juice and even some jalapeno peppers to add a touch of heat. A quick search of the internet for these ingredients turned up a recipe for an avocado dressing pretty much just like the one that I was thinking about on Skinny Taste . I did make one quick change to the recipe by including some mayonnaise which goes fabulously well with avocados. I have to say that this avocado dressing is amazingly good; nice and creamy so so fresh and vibrant! Now I just need to resist eating it all by the spoonful so that it can make it into the salad!

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Tzatziki Sauce (Greek Cucumber Salad)

Tzatziki Sauce (Greek Cucumber Salad)

Appetizer Condiment Dip Food Gluten-free Greek Low-carb Recipe Sauce Vegetarian

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Tzatziki is a Greek meze or appetizer that is made from strained yogurt, cucumber and garlic. Optional ingredients include herbs such as dill, mint and/or parsley and lemon juice is also common. If you are feeling daring you can even hit it up with a splash of ouzo. In addition to being served as an appetizer it makes a great dip or condiment especially when served in gyros or with souvlaki.

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Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto

Condiment Food Gluten-free Italian Low-carb Pesto Recipe Vegetarian

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One of the best things about the summer is all of the fresh basil and one of my favourite things to do with that basil is to make pesto! Basil pesto is as easy to make and pureeing basil, garlic, pine-nuts, parmesan, olive oil and lemon juice in a food processor so there's really no excuse to not make your own in the summer! Once you have made your basil pesto it can be used on so many thing from pastas to sandwiches to soups, salads, etc (Take a look at the huge list of recipes to use your homemade fresh basil pesto in below the recipe!) Another great thing about basil pesto is that it freezes well so you can save the essence of summer for later.

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Guinness Chocolate Syrup

Guinness Chocolate Syrup

Condiment Food Recipe St Patricks Day

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For those of you that have tried my Guinness chocolate cheesecake , and if you haven’t you seriously need to, you will know that Guinness brings out chocolates natural flavour, enhancing it, making it even better. For my next St Patrick's Day dish I needed a chocolate syrup and in my mind a Guinness chocolate syrup was the only way to go! A simple syrup, just like its name implies, is really simple requiring just water and sugar to be combined and simmered to melt the sugar and thicken the syrup a bit. A chocolate syrup is made by adding cocoa powder to the mix and a Guinness chocolate syrup is of course made by simply replacing the water with Guinness. As easy as this Guinness chocolate syrup it is also amazingly good and I cannot wait to start using it!

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Vanilla Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Vanilla Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Condiment Food Gluten-free Recipe Vegetarian

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I almost forgot to share the vanilla bourbon caramel sauce recipe that I mentioned in the pumpkin Greek yogurt banana bread the other day! This vanilla bourbon caramel sauce is a pretty standard caramel sauce with the seeds from a vanilla bean and a splash of bourbon added to add a depth of flavour and to give it an even more amazing aroma. Caramel sauce can be a bit tricky to make at first but once you get the hang of it, it is really easy! In fact the hardest thing about it is that it requires you to watch it the whole time because if you take yours eyes of of it for a few seconds it can burn really quickly. So other than having to dedicate 20-30 minutes of time to making it, it as simple as melting some sugar, bringing it to a boil and cooking it until it turns a nice amber colour. All that remains is to carefully add the cream followed by the butter and any flavourings that you want, in this case the vanilla and the bourbon.

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Tequila and Lime Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce

Tequila and Lime Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce

Condiment Food Gluten-free Recipe Side Dish Texmex Vegetarian

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No holiday turkey dinner is complete without some homemade cranberry sauce and since it is so easy to make at home you really have no excuse not to! Although a basic cranberry sauce is amazing all by itself, you can change things up every once in a while by adding various flavoura and this time I went with a Mexican inspired flavour theme with spicy jalapeno peppers, lime and a hit of tequila. The heat provided by the jalapeno peppers goes well in the sweet and tart cranberry sauce making it little like a salsa and the lime juice really brightens it up!

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Roast Zucchini Salsa

Roast Zucchini Salsa

Condiment Food Gluten-free Italian Low-carb Mexican Pesto Recipe Salsa Vegetable Vegetarian

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Not too long ago a made an absolutely fabulous swiss chard pesto that was really more of a combination of a pesto and a salsa, and I have been fascinated by the idea ever since. With all of the zucchini around these days I was thinking that a zucchini salsa/pesto would be a great way to enjoy some! At its base this zucchini salsa looks like a basic pesto with the basil being replaced by zucchini, the pine nuts replaced with pepitas and the lemon juice replaced with lime juice. From there some more salsa like ingredients are added including some spicy jalapeno peppers and fresh cilantro. Of course I decided to roast the zucchini first to tenderize it and bring out more of its flavour! Because of the roasting, this salsa takes a bit of time to make but well worth it! The roasted zucchini goes amazingly well with all of the flavours in this salsa and the creaminess of the pureed pepitas adds a whole new dimension of texture.

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Roasted Poblano Crema

Roasted Poblano Crema

Condiment Food Gluten-free Low-carb Mexican Recipe Vegetarian

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Sour cream, Mexican crema or if you are looking for a healthier alternative, Greek yogurt, are great condiments that can be used in all types of Mexican style dishes from tacos to burritos and beyond. Although it is super easy to just grab a spoonful of sour cream right from the container, why not take the opportunity to add more flavour to the dish by making a flavoured sour cream? With this in mind I decided to make this roasted poblano crema to go on the tacos that I was making. Poblano peppers have a mild heat that makes them perfect for something like this and roasting them mellows them out an bit and adds a nice smokiness to them. In addition to the roasted poblano peppers I added some garlic and green onion to the crema for even more flavour and some cilantro and lime juice for a bit of brightness.

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Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam

Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam

Bacon Best of 2013 eBook Condiment Food Gluten-free Jam Recipe

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I do not know how I could have possibly missed the whole bacon jam band wagon when it came around a while ago but I recently discovered it and jumped right on board! I mean, how could you possibly go wrong making a jam where the primary ingredient is bacon? I was completely smitten with the idea and had to make a batch right away!

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Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

Condiment Dressing Food Gluten-free Low-carb Recipe Vegetarian

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Ranch dressing is one of the most popular dressings around and I had been thinking about making a spicy jalapeno ranch dressing for a while. Your basic ranch dressing is made with buttermilk and mayonnaise and it is seasoned with spices such as salt, pepper, paprika, and mustard along with plenty of herbs including parsley, chives and dill. All of this makes for a cool and creamy dressing but this time I was thinking more along the lines of a Texmex style ranch dressing with some heat from jalapeno peppers in addition to some fresh cilantro and a burst of lime juice. Making a ranch dressing could not be easier, you simply have to puree everything in a food processor or blender and it is ready to go. When it is this easy to make your own amazingly tasty dressings at home, why wouldn't you!

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Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Condiment Food French Gluten-free Low-carb Recipe Vegetarian

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With spring here it seems almost inevitable that I dust off my trusty old hollandaise sauce recipe because it goes so well with all of the abundant asparagus that is available right now. A Hollandaise sauce is a French sauce that is an emulsion of egg yolks and butter and it is commonly seasoned with lemon juice, salt, and a touch of cayenne pepper. Given that a Hollandaise sauce is pretty much just and emulsion of butter it is decadently creamy and hint of lemon really takes it over the edge. The one problem with a Hollandaise sauce is that it can be a bit tricky to make by the traditional method over a double boiler and that can intimidate some and keep them from making it. I recently came across the idea of making a Hollandaise sauce in a blender and it is literally as easy and blending the egg yolks and lemon juice and then slowly streaming in the hot melted butter and it emulsifies almost immediately! After coming across the idea I just had to try it and it worked perfectly! Now my only concern is that since it is so easy to make, I will be having this decadent treat far too often.

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