A Pretty Green Dip

I love Salsa Verde. It's so flavorful, particularly if you take the time to roast or broil the veggies. I set a recipe out here in the blog a while back, but it seems I just never make it the same way twice. 

As it happens, I was asked to make a "Jalapeño Dip" for Easter festivities. As it also happened, I had a gallbladder attack and it was removed just 2 days before Easter, so I missed the festivities - but I did make the dip. Problem was, while it looked and smelled great, I just couldn't taste it for fear of what pain I would endure. I live by my taste buds, so this was against everything I know, to allow a new recipe out to family without ever really being able to taste how the flavors worked. 

Green Jalapeno Dip

Salsa Verde made with Poblanos

I had never made a "jalapeño dip" before, so I thought about it some, and decided that I should start with a Salsa Verde, or "Green Sauce" and then add ingredients to make it a dip. I wanted to make it with a tiny bit of bite, but nothing kids couldn't handle. I decided that instead of the one green pepper for making the Salsa Verde, I would add in two Poblano peppers. These gave the sauce a much deeper color than I had ever achieved before. As it happened, this batch of Poblano peppers had no particular heat to them, so that was good. Once most of the ingredients were together, I added in one roasted, peeled and seeded jalapeño pepper. I was "tasting" things only in the sense of a quick touch of the tongue - but no swallowing (I was in some major pain, I tell you). I detected no heat, so I added a second, and then a third. Finally I felt a little tiny note of spice - and left it at that. 

I asked the hostess of the Easter festivities to please poll those who ate this dip, so I would have some handle on how good was it. Did it need anything to boost flavor? The report was that it was amazing, and once people got past the color green, they gobbled it down and the container of dip was gone! I guess that means it was good.

Meanwhile, I am doing well after my surgery, so one of these days I am making another batch so I can actually taste it. Sigh. It sure did look good.

Green Jalapeño Dip

Green Jalapeno Dip

Made 3½ cups

1½ cups Salsa Verde, made with Poblano Peppers
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup cilantro leaves
3 blistered, peeled, seeded jalapeño peppers (leave seeds and membranes in if you prefer the heat) 
1 teaspoon salt 

Make the Salsa Verde recipe, adding in two Poblano peppers, blistered, peeled and seeded, to the basic recipe. The recipe for the Salsa Verde makes about 3 cups, so the rest can be frozen for a later date. 

Measure out the 1½ cups Salsa Verde in a blender and add in the extra jalapenos, lime juice, cilantro and salt. Blend very fine. In a mixing bowl, with hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth, then add the blender mixture of "doctored" salsa verde and beat to combine. Chill thoroughly before serving. Wonderful served with corn tortilla chips.
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If you wonder what else to do with the leftover Salsa Verde, it can be used as is for a dip, or it can be used as a braising liquid for a Pork Shoulder in Green Sauce. There are many wonderful uses, but the pork shoulder is such a favorite! Pollo en Jocon is another great use for it.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.