Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–thank you so much for being here…in spite of my prolonged absence.
I had, actually, planned to be away from my desk for a couple of weeks in order to take a much-needed vacation in southwest France, but life intervened: instead of being out of commission for two weeks, I have been pretty much out of commission for six weeks.
About six weeks ago, I experienced a serious eye issue that caused some short-term vision loss. Thankfully, the condition was treatable, and I am back to 20/20 vision, but due to follow-up visits, Mr. Stone Soup and I had to cancel our trip at the very last minute. To add insult to injury, Mr. Soup managed to bring home a vicious flu bug, which he passed on to me. So instead of enjoying delicious wine, food and cave paintings for two weeks in France, Mr. Soup and I were flat on our backs in bed battling a flu that led to yet more doctor’s visits.
On the bright side, I feel energized that my recovery has come in time to enjoy the bounty that is early summertime here in Northern California. I was well enough to make it to the farmer’s market this last weekend and I was greeted with first-of-the-season cherries, nectarines and blackberries. Additionally, asparagus were still available (not to mention delicious!) and sweet basil, blueberries and blackberries were also making their cautious debuts. This is just about my favorite time of the year–many of the early spring vegetables are still in season, and the stone fruits and even some vine fruits, like tomatoes, are beginning to show up–a feast for the eyes, nose and tastebuds–I hardly know where to start!
And, I am delighted that this cornucopia of fruits and vegetables rather serendipitously fits beautifully into my next sauce of California Cuisine category: salsa.
Prior to my unplanned hiatus, I had introduced three of what I have determined are the California Cuisine “foundational” or “mother” sauces, which include: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, soy sauce, Hollandaise, a simple tomato sauce and salsa. In previous posts, I introduced sauces featuring mayonnaise, vinaigrette and pesto. Today, I’ll be starting back up with the mother sauces by featuring salsas.
Salsa in Spanish, means “sauce.” Its roots go all the way back to the Aztec and Mayan cultures in the 1500’s, where tomatoes, chilis, squash and seeds were ground together in a mortar and pestle to create a piquant sauce. By 1521, the Spanish had colonized Mexico and introduced such foods as onions, garlic, limes, cilantro, black pepper, olive oil, oregano and basil. The Spanish happily adopted salsas as a staple in their foods and incorporated many of these ingredients to create what we now recognize as “modern day” salsa.
With Mexico’s proximity to California, Mexican cuisine has had a heavy influence the cuisine of California, which is why I have chosen salsa as one of the fundamental or “mother” sauces of California Cuisine. There are nominally four different types of salsas: fresh, cooked, roasted and fruit salsas. Fresh and fruit salsas are particularly important to such categories of California Cuisines as “Baja-style” and “Cal-Mex” food, which feature super-fresh, of-the-moment ingredients. These salsas go straight to the heart of California Cuisine, which is minimally prepared to really showcase the flavors of the just-harvested ingredients.
Over the next few weeks, I will be featuring recipes from each of these four styles of salsas, but also pushing the envelope a little to include not only Mexican-style salsas, but also Italian and Mediterranean-style sauces that I will argue fit into one of the salsa categories. We’ll have some fun and see if you agree with me!
For today’s post, I’m featuring one of my favorite fruit salsas: cherry salsa.
It is sweet, piquant and spicy all at the same time. It’s great as a condiment for grilled meats, but really shines when it’s paired with a beautiful goat cheese or ricotta on a slice of grilled french bread for a super-fresh and flavorful appetizer on a hot, summer afternoon! Or use to top fish tacos and serve with a crisp rose for a gorgeous pool-side supper main!
Tune again next week when I will be featuring more salsas of California Cuisine!
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
