The StudioMONDO Test Kitchen

"Lilith" by Guy Mondo, 1996

Quite a few of my friends, family and acquaintances have made the assumption that I am a good cook based on the fact that I'm a single guy who cooks his own meals rather than buying prepared foods or take-away. Truth is I'm not that good. It's just that the few things I do cook I do well and I'm creative with ingredients because, if I'm using a recipe, it's a good bet that I don't have half of the ingredients it calls for. Plus, I can be lazy and/or impatient.

I find that the friends that think I'm amazing in the kitchen are, generally, people that may be impressed by my working for Carla Hall. The thing is is that I don't work in Carla's kitchen, I handle equipment and deliveries and such for her. Occasionally, I've done some prep work and once made a boat load of cookies for her but mostly I drive "Moby, Van From Hell".

The point I'm trying to get to is that a lot of people ask me for recipes for some of the stuff I make up in the Mondo Test Kitchen. One of the things I've learned fron Carla is to keep things simple. This doesn't necessarily mean using fewer ingredients but using enough ingredients. It's like the art I make: it's all about knowing when to step back and leave it be. Hence the recipe below.

Guy Mondo's Tomatillo Lime Salsa Fresca
(Makes enough to fill a Classico spaghetti sauce jar)

4 barely ripe roma tomatoes, diced
4 medium to large tomatillos, diced
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced fine
1 habanero pepper, diced fine
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Mix it all together and let sit until the flavors meld, usually about 2 hours but it will be fantastic after about a day. This salsa is fairly spicy so you may temper the amount of the chilies to your taste. Now, some folks will put all this into a food processor and pulse the chunkiness out of it but, like my friend Anna St John says, "It's not salsa, it's gazpacho!".

It should be good for about a week but if you know you're not going to eat it all in that time I saw some guy on TV say to add a little olive oil to it and pulse it a little in a food processor then heat it to a simmer. Let it cool and freeze it for later.

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