Salsa - Salsa - Salsa
Cinco de Mayo is a day away, and we’re here to help you start the festivities off right!
Need a recipe for salsa? You're in luck! Our friends at Basics Market in the Pearl District shared three versatile salsa recipes to cook at home.
Salsa Quemada, with fire-roasted chiles and tomatoes.
Salsa Verde, for a spicy kick and a subtle tang.
Fresh Pico de Gallo, with chunky tomatoes.
Check out the tip from Basic market’s Chef Sam Maggi on how to get the perfect roasted pepper taste to add flavor to your salsa.
Basic’s Salsa Tip - Char a Pepper!
Not sure how to char a pepper or why? Check out Basics’ quick video!
Salsa Symposium - Check out the online classes !
Salsa Quemada, Salsa Verde, Pico de Gallo
All delicious with grilled meats, veggies, or chips.
Watch Basics’ Chef Sam Maggi prepare the salsa step-by-step!
View the Salsa Symposium videos HERE .
Check out more videos with amazing recipes. You’ll find the ingredients for these recipes and so much more in the market.
You’ll find the ingredients for these recipes and more in the market, located at NW Lovejoy between 13th and 14th, and the free recipe card on the in-store Recipe Wall.
Enjoy!
Basic’s Website: Basics Market - Lovejoy
Why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
We all love celebrating Cinco de Mayo, but why is the fifth of May so widely celebrated in the US? Much like St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, Cinco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico. With one major exception: the city of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, celebrates the date of a single battle: when the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.
Cinco de Mayo celebrates of a single but important battle.
In Mexico, commemorations of the battle tend to be less extravagant than the festivals the US knows and loves. Cinco de Mayo is not widely recognized in the US celebrating the heroics of a Mexican general and his brave soldiers’ battle against the French, but more Mexican culture writ large.
Check out more with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro The Real History of Cinco de Mayo
Image: 5th May 1862. Depictions of the battle showing Mexican cavalry overwhelming the French troops below the fort at Loreto. Scene recreated by Francisco P. Miranda. Oil on canvas, 1872. Wikipedia
In 1862, Mexico had been devastated financially after years of internal fighting, and the newly elected President Benito Juárez—lawyer and member of the Zapotec tribe, was forced to default on debts owed to European governments, including France. French Emperor Napoleon III (nephew of “the” Napoleon) saw this as an opportunity, decided to capitalize on the casus belli, and invaded. He had colonial ambitions for Mexico, which had freed itself from Spanish rule only half a century earlier. The French landed in Veracruz and planned to use the city as a staging ground to strike at Ciudad de México (Mexico City). It was on their march to Mexico's capital that the French encountered the city of Puebla. Mexican General Ignacio Zaragosa had no intention of surrendering to a French emperor. Although comparatively small and ill-equipped, they utilized their position in the city to repel the mighty French army, one of the most feared military forces in the world at the time.
While Mexico won the battle, they did lose the war against France. But, Napoleon III never achieved the long-lasting French Mexico he desired. And the people of Puebla and in Mexico celebrate the victory of the battle, the brave underdog against a vast superpower, on Cinco de Mayo.
