Whether you are an experienced salsa chef or just a novice, you surely want the
best possible ingredients from which to create your salsa masterpiece: juicy,
vine-ripened tomatoes picked at their peak; countless varieties of firm, fresh
chiles from Mexico, South America, and the Carribean; fragrant garlic, herbs,
and onions; plump tomatillos in papery husks; soft, pliable dried chiles;
exotic tropical fruits for sweetness and contrast. Based on the results of our
own local ingredient search, finding top-quality salsa fixings in Austin is no
problem at all.
Though the blazing August sun has put an end to most of the Central Texas
summer tomato crop, there are still good summer tomatoes in local grocery
stores. Regular Hot Sauce contestant Cynthia Spanhel says she only uses the
Roma tomato variety in her personal recipes. There are farmer’s markets from
South Austin all the way to Georgetown and you might just find the last, sweet
tomatoes of summer at one of them, if you’re lucky.
For years, the fresh chile selection here was limited to jalape�os, a
few serranos, and the occasional poblano. But thanks to the insatiable demands
of local chile-heads, growers and grocers alike have increased their
inventories. The fresh pepper selection at Fiesta is truly impressive with both
Central Market and Whole Foods very much in contention. Here again, farmer’s
markets are a good place to shop for your favorite Capsicums. The Penn
Brothers of Lake Travis’ Sunset Farms sell some of their produce to grocery
stores but they prefer setting up a stall at the Travis County Farmer’s Market
and talking directly to customers about their top-quality products. Because
their crops tend to mature in the late summer and early fall, they should be at
the Travis County Market for the next several weekends.
According to Robert Penn, the alkaline limestone soil at the Lake Travis ranch
that has been in their family for generations is the perfect place to grow
Carribean Island pepper varieties. “Scotch bonnets from Jamaica do great up
here,” he reports, “as well as rocotillos and St. Croix Browns.” Sunset Farms
peppers are favored by chefs preparing Southwestern, Carribean, and South
American dishes such as El Rinconcito’s Lalo Garland, Jay McCarthy of Cascabel
in San Antonio, and Mark Miller of Coyote Cafe. If your taste in salsa tends
toward the Islands, the Penn brothers (at 6701 Burnet Road) probably have the
fresh peppers you need for Saturday’s festival.
Everyone knows the Hill Country is famous for peaches but to chile-heads,
Stonewall means habaneros from the Stonewall Chile Pepper Company. Their full
line of prepared products are available in retail outlets and through their
mail order catalogue. If you want to purchase their fresh habaneros, cayennes,
jalape�os, or chile pequins, you’ll have to take a short scenic drive to
the company store on Hwy290W in downtown Stonewall. During chile season, the
store is open all day, every day.
Tomatillos are another salsa ingredient that grow beautifully in Central
Texas. “Best Urban Farmer” Cora Lamar grows tomatillos by the bushel, but her
entire production goes straight to Kerby Lane Cafes. Check with other farmers
at stands and markets around town for the local crop. Fiesta is a very reliable
source for tomatillos, and they are often available in regular neighborhood
HEBs as well as Central Market.
True aficionados of dried chiles know that a good indicator of quality is a
soft, pliable product. Dry, leathery, ashen chiles will not rehydrate
successfully or yield a very aromatic powder when ground. These days there are
selections of bulk dried peppers in all the high-profile local groceries. Fonda
San Miguel owner Tom Gilliland has been importing both fresh and dried peppers
for more than 20 years, long before chiles were “discovered” by the current
crop of Southwestern celebrity chefs. He cautions that the bulk dried chiles
available in local grocery stores are sometimes mislabeled and sold far beyond
their prime. Gilliland speaks well of Jose Marmolejo’s Don Alfonso brand of
dried chiles imported from Mexico, and Cynthia Spanhel is also a Don Alfonso
fan. The extensive line of top-quality dried peppers are available retail in
Whole Foods Markets, Simon David, and Central Market, and can also be purchased
from the Don Alfonso mail order catalogue.
If fresh herbs are a key ingredient to your personal salsa concoction, it’s
not a bad idea to grow your own. Fresh cilantro is certainly not difficult to
find at any of the grocery stores or farmer’s markets mentioned above, but what
if you wanted something a little more exotic? J. P. Hayes, proprietor of
Austin’s Sgt. Peppers Hot Sauce Microbrewery, is a proponent of homegrown herbs
for his line of specialty sauces which can be found at Central Market, in some
gourmet stores, and mail order catalogues.
“The sauce I won with last year was made with Ginger Mint that came right out
of my front yard,” he recalls, adding that he checks out the herb plant
selections at Central Market, It’s About Thyme, and gardens for the most unique
flavors. Hayes also grows his own Scotch Bonnet and Aji Limon peppers with
seeds from the aforementioned Penn Brothers. “I like to make verde sauces with
the Aji Limon,” he reports, “it has a flavor somewhat like a serrano plus a
wonderful lemon aroma that works great with tomatillos.” When he can’t grow his
own, J.P. likes to deal directly with farmers, so he’s a frequent shopper at
local farmer’s markets.
By far the most intriguing shopping venue I encountered during my research was
La Pulga (flea, in Espa�ol), the 290 Flea Market located on
Hwy290E, about five miles east of I-35. Thanks to a tip from my Chron colleague Robb Walsh, I spent Sunday morning shopping and people-watching at
this funky, open-air, weekends-only mercado popular with transplanted Hispanics
from Mexico and Central and South America.
While it’s possible to purchase plenty of prepared food such as elote
asado (roasted corn), fried catfish, hamburgers, sno cones, popcorn, and
sodas, the real culinary treasures at La Pulga are the fresh produce
stalls. With the gentle Peruvian folk music of a band called Wayanay floating
around me, I perused the different selections of mostly Mexican produce. At one
stand, there was fresh sugar cane, fat cactus pads, and also bags of fresh
nopales slices, red and green jalape�os, tiny yellow limes,
fragrant mangos, and papayas.
At another stall, I found several varieties of fresh and dried peppers:
poblano, caribe, serrano, chile arbol, red and green jalape�o, ancho,
dry chipotle, cascabel, and negro. This vendor also had lentils, pintos, and
black turtle beans as well as habas (fava beans) and pepitas
(pumpkin seeds). He was quick to point out that he had both the roasted and
raw varieties of these popular pumpkin seeds, and proudly cut me a slice of
what he called a mango vanilla, a small golden mango with a heavenly
flavor.
One stall at La Pulga that consistently does a brisk business is Becky
Forsythe’s Texas Spice Company stand. The Texas Spice Company folks are well
known to retailers, chefs, and restaurateurs for their excellent line of
seasonings, rubs, and marinades. They’ve also built a reputation on their
selection of freshly roasted and ground chile powders, highly regarded for
their potency and aromas. There are no fresher, more flavorful chile powders
unless you roast and grind dried chiles yourself.
Whatever your recipe and wherever you shopped for ingredients, best of luck in
this year’s Hot Sauce Challenge!
Central Market, 4001 N. Lamar, 206-1000
Fiesta, I-35 North at 381/2, 406-3900
Whole Foods Markets, 6th & Lamar,
476-1206, Gateway on 183,
345-5003
Simon David Arboretum Market on Great Hills Trail, 338-4250
Travis County Farmer’s Market, 6701 Burnet Road, 454-1002
290 Flea Market, Hwy 290E, 5 miles east of IH35 928-2795
Sunset Farms, 267-4301
Don Alfonso Foods, 335-2370,
800/456-6100, Fax # 800/765-7373
Stonewall Chile Pepper Company,
Hwy 290W in Stonewall,
800/232-2995
Texas Spice Co., 444-2223
This article appears in August 25 • 1995 and August 25 • 1995 (Cover).