Quick and Easy Seafood: Salsa for the Win

Store-bought or homemade, going beyond a dip for chips

I don’t know why I hadn’t been doing this all along. From now on, I plan to be sure there’s always a tub of salsa in the fridge. Maybe a bowl of homemade now and then, too.

My post-work, pre-dinner snack is most always a simple salty-crunchy something, usually no dip or other accoutrement (often potato chips, random crackers, Fritos, those honey-mustard pretzel bits, sometimes popcorn). But I recently had a hankering for some salsa to go with tortilla chips and it’s put me on a bit of a salsa kick this past month or so.

I have since used salsa to top chip-coated salmon one night, spread on rockfish fillets before baking another night, and tossed with sautéing shrimp another. And as we do eat more than just seafood around here, I spooned some over chicken thighs while they braised, that was pretty tasty as well.

Of course, I dipped a chip or two into some now and then in its classic snack context. I riff on that perennial chips-and-salsa combo with a couple recipe ideas below.

I couldn't get over the array of salsa options at the Berkeley Bowl grocery store, as we strolled through on a recent Bay Area trip.

So many possibilities come to mind, from simply spooning a favorite salsa over grilled fish to adding salsa to the pot before steaming clams or mussels—maybe with a splash of beer? that seems salsa-appropriate, right?! Oh, and consider adding a crumble of tortilla chips on top of whatever the salsa use; hard to go wrong with that.

Now I’m hooked on that snack-to-dinner breadth of possibility with salsa and hope to always have some on hand.

By random happenstance of timing, a couple of weeks ago I’d finally risen to the top of the library’s waiting list for a copy of Salsa Daddy by Rick Martinez (which I’ve loved so much, I’m buying a copy.) That only amplified my fun in exploring salsa options and contemplating all that salsa has to offer.

In the book’s introduction, Martinez sets the stage for how much potential there is for salsa and its uses: “The direct translation of the word salsa is “sauce,” which is an understatement. In Mexico, salsa is so much more. It’s a seasoning for food that tickles and gratifies the palate. An accompaniment that adds depth, poignancy, and zest often in the form of spicy, sweet, and sour flavors. But it’s more than a condiment—salsa is a quintessential part of the Mexican table.”

Later he encourages getting beyond the “salsa binaries” of red and green, saying “the salsa spectrum is wide and wonderful.” He provides tons of examples—especially for salsas themselves, also uses for them.

One of my favorite notes he makes is the suggestion to turn one salsa, the Salsa Guajillo (a guajillo chile-based red sauce), into a compound butter, stirring a few tablespoons of the salsa into a stick of softened butter, with a recommendation to use it for shrimp scampi. Given my love of butter, I’m definitely trying that before long.

And I plan to make the Salsa Costeño, “Fruits of the Sea Salsa,” soon too. The salsa includes a couple cups of shrimp, fish, or shellfish stock, and he adds a note that I can get very much behind: to use shrimp shells from, say, a batch of shrimp enchiladas you’ll make to serve that salsa with, to make a quick batch of shrimp stock. I’ve got more on that and shellfish stock here.

Chips-and-Salsa Fish Two Ways

In the spirit of easy-going, casual, no-fuss meals, I’m presenting these two as casual recipes.

I used salmon and rockfish for these (salmon twice, which is the fish in these photos). I’m sure most other fish fillets would work, ideally they’d be in the 3/4 inch to 1 1/4 inch range of thickness. Thinner fillets I’d recommend folding in half or thirds to make little packets and just use the salsa-first option below.

Chips first:

Finely crush a couple handfuls of tortilla chips and use them to coat both sides of skinless fish fillet pieces, pressing them to help adhere then gently shaking to remove excess. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the fish and cook until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the fish and continue cooking until lightly browned on the second side and the flesh is just opaque through the thickest part, a few minutes longer. Transfer to individual plates, top with a spoonful of salsa, and serve.

Salsa first:

Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly oil a baking dish. Season fish fillet pieces with salt and put them in the baking dish. Spread a couple tablespoons of salsa on each fillet and bake until the fish is just opaque through the thickest part, about 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness and type of fish used. Transfer the fish to individual plates, scatter crushed tortilla chips over, and serve.

Shrimp with Charred Salsa

To be sure, this is as much a template, a starting point, as it is a formal recipe. The ingredients in the salsa are widely open to variation, in both what you use and proportions you use. Maybe skip the jalapeño, add more tomato, use just chiles and onion, throw in some tomatillos, add a squeeze of lime juice when seasoning. Tons of room for variation, an ideal time for off-the-cuff cooking.

Before, during (I'd already removed skins from the tomato halves), and after.

Shrimp-sautéing is just one of countless uses for the salsa, others noted above, or just follow your own whims on the theme.

This batch of salsa made about 1 1/2 cups, half of which I used for our dinner-for-two prep and the rest was ready for a snack and/or other dinner plans.

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Charred Salsa
2 poblano chiles
1/2 large onion, cut into wedges
2 medium tomatoes, halved
1 large jalapeño
3-4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 475°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

For the salsa, arrange the poblanos, onion wedges, tomato halves (cut side down), jalapeño, and garlic cloves on the baking sheet. Roast until the chile and tomato skins are well browned, about 15 minutes, using tongs to carefully turn the chiles a few times for even cooking. Set the baking sheet aside until everything has cooled.

Peel the skin away from the poblanos and jalapeño, then remove the core and seeds. Coarsely chop the roasted chiles. Discard the skin from the tomato and coarsely chop the tomato. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic. Coarsely chop the onionas well as any extra-charred parts; a bit of char is fine.

Put the chiles, onion, tomato, and garlic in a food processor and pulse to finely chop them; I prefer for there to be some chunky pieces and texture, but if you’d prefer a smoother salsa—for this or another use—process as much as you’d like. Season to taste with salt.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are about halfway cooked—some parts opaque but not completely, 2 to 3 minutes. Add about half of the salsa (about 3/4 cup) and stir to mix with the shrimp. Continue cooking until the shrimp are evenly opaque and cooked through, a few minutes longer.

Makes 2 servings

Shrimp with charred salsa, and roasted cabbage on the side—which is always SO much more delicious than it looks! Especially the browned edges and crisped-up outer leaves.