Radish Salsa: Fiesta Week Part 1!

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!

I know what you are thinking…she sounds wayyy too chipper for a Monday morning, but guess what…its FIESTA WEEK! Cue the mariachi music and bust out a margarita!

This is a self-proclaimed, week long holiday is genius! Living in San Diego taco Tuesday is every day, but this week I will be taking you on a journey of my favorite homemade beans, tacos and salsa.

Since today is Monday you know we are going meatless! I debated on whether to share the salsa recipe today or the beans.  The beans have bacon in them, but they can easily be removed. After I thought about it, the salsa made much more sense to share today because the recipe truly is meatless.

LET’S GET INTO IT.

Last Wednesday I was debating on what Justin and I are were going to have for dinner. He mentioned he wanted something hearty and something with red meat. I went back and forth on a few meal options and after clearing the taco idea with Justin, I went to the store and picked up all the items.

Traditionally, in Mexico, tacos are made with corn tortillas and are often topped with cilantro, white onions, and lime. SO FUCKING GOOD. I can literally taste the street tacos we had the last time we were in Mexico. I’m dying and drooling all at the same time.

Ok, I just slapped myself out of the taco wet dream I was having, back to the salsa.

Whenever I cook I like to do research about what flavors will go well together, what is traditional, and obvi, what Justin and I both like.

At most American taco joints the tacos are topped with pica de gaIlo, a salsa fresca made from fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice and sometimes serrano peppers. I knew I wanted a slightly more traditional topping for the taco, so I knew pico was out (also, Justin is not a fan of pico de gallo).

I worked at a Baja Mexican Restaurant for a while and I noticed that most of the food was topped with a combination of radishes and onions.  If you haven’t had a radish before you are definitely missing out. Spicie Foodie says they stimulate appetite, have vitamin C, are low cal, and have a spice bite to them. 

Radishes are used in Mexican cooking, although I am not sure of the full origin. In Oaxaca, Mexico they have a festival called La Noche de los Rabanos which translates to Night of Radishes. This festival celebrates the colonial period when radishes were introduced to the Spanish.  The story states the Mayor of Oaxaca held a radish carving competition in 1987. The tradition for carving out the radishes has been sanding ever since then. Although Oaxaca is just one city in Mexico, I like to think the news of the radishes spread because of them, which then turned it into a popular add to dishes.

WOO. Now that the history lesson is over…

RADISH SALSA!

Remember what I said above?  Traditional tacos are made with corn tortillas, steak and topped with cilantro, onions and limes. I wanted to stay true to this, so I chopped up some radishes, added them to the cilantro, and subbed the white onion for green onion, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt, BOOM. You’re done! 

Literally took me 2 minutes to make and was damn delish.

Do you all ever play around with your salsa? I love salsa and am always looking for new recipes. Leave me a comment and let me know how you like your salsa. Stay tuned later this week for my grilled flank steak tacos and of course, my famous bacon beans!