Serve tacos with a variey of sauces.
Traditional Mexican tacos vary in filling and form, but primarily consist of a soft corn or flour tortilla filled with seasoned meat and garnished with onion and cilantro. In the United States, tacos are commonly served on a crispy shell with lettuce, tomato and cheese. One thing tacos have in common, no matter where they're served, is that they are served with at least one -- and sometimes several -- types of sauce to top them off.
Hot Sauce
Hot pepper sauce adds a kick to tacos with just a few drops. Bottled hot sauces can range from mild, vinegar-laced pepper sauce to intensely hot habanero-infused. In the U.S., tacos are offered with sauces in a range of heat levels, none especially hot, to add flavor and spice to crunchy tacos. You can also use any type of hot sauce, including Louisiana-style hot sauce and Asian hot pepper sauces, to top tacos.
Salsa Casera
Fresh salsa casera, or ranchero salsa, commonly top tacos in Mexico and parts of the U.S. While you can sometimes find these uncooked salsas premade at grocery stores and Latin markets, they taste best when they're freshly made at home -- in fact, "salsa casera" literally translates into "homemade salsa." To make it, crush garlic and hot peppers into a paste using a large mortar and pestle, blender or food processor, then add roasted, skinned fresh tomatoes and grind the ingredients with a little bit of water and salt. Spoon over tacos.
Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo is an uncooked, fresh salsa that can be made at home easily, but instead of a thin, ground-up sauce, it's a chunky salsa with chunks of tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers and herbs. Chop the ingredients into fine or medium pieces and combine with lime juice and salt and pepper. Pico de gallo can be served immediately after it's made or you can chill it for a few hours before serving, allowing the flavors to meld.
Guacamole
Guacamole, best known in the U.S. as a thick avocado dip, also serves as a sauce for tacos. In Mexico, guacamole used to top tacos has a thinner consistency than dipping guacamole. To make your own guacamole taco sauce, puree a ripe avocado in a blender with chopped onion, fresh, hot pepper to taste, lime juice and a sprinkle of salt; add water until it thins out. Alternatively, you can mix water into prepared guacamole to make taco sauce.
Salsa Verde
Salsa verde, or green salsa, is made with a base of green tomatillos instead of ripe red tomatoes. Salsa verde is a cooked salsa that can be purchased commercially at most supermarkets and Latin markets or it can be made at home. To make it, simmer tomatillos in broth with a chili pepper, green onion and garlic for about 20 minutes, then puree in a blender. Blend in herbs, salt and a drizzle of heavy cream or dollop of sour cream to finish.
Tags: made home, guacamole make, Latin markets, lime juice, onion garlic, pepper sauce, Pico gallo