Chirmol

When I graduated from college, Tanya, one of my roommates, congratulated me and said that she did not know why I had majored in International Relations and Spanish, since I would most likely end up having my own restaurant or bakery.  To be honest, I do enjoy food.  You can tell that just from looking at me.  This enjoyment of food came very early in life.  I was blessed with two grandmothers who were magnificent cooks.  They both taught my mother how to cook well.  My uncles and cousins on both sides have what I call a "delicate palate" since they learned to appreciate good food from these amazing women.  I have toyed a time or two with the idea of opening my own Salvadoran restaurant.  Especially when I am frustrated over the quality of pupusas and other Salvadoran dishes found in some of the Salvadoran restaurants here in Los Angeles.  Despite Tanya's prediction, I don't think I am brave enough to open up my own restaurant or bakery.  I do, however, enjoy sharing food with family and friends.

I started this blog as a way to write in order to relax.  I am not a writer, nor do I claim to be.  I also like reading blogs.  I find that most of the blogs I read are about food.  One of these blogs is called Tea and Cookies, and I was happy to see in it a recipe for chirmol but with a twist:  radishes, finely chopped.  Chirmol is a Salvadoran chunky salsa made with roasted tomatoes.  It is very simple really, but oh so good.  It goes well with a variety of foods.  This was one of the many dishes both my grandmothers excelled at and a common staple at my home while I was growing up.  The author, Tea, (such a cool name)  asked me to share the recipe without a twist like it is done in El Salvador, or at least how it was made in my house by my grandmas.

Here is my amateur attempt at writing a recipe:

Chirmol

4 or 5 tomatoes roasted and with their skins removed

1 onion finely chopped

cilantro finely chopped

parsley finely chopped (optional)

1/4 teaspoon of dry oregano 

salt and lime juice to taste

chile chiltepe or jalapenos finely chopped (optional)

The tomatoes are roasted to the point where their skin begins to crack open.  You can do this over coals or over an open flame.  Remove from flame and cool slightly.  Pull the skins off and chop the tomatoes.  The roasted tomatoes add a different taste to this dish.  It is especially better tasting, in my opinion, when the tomatoes are roasted over hot coals.  However, the open flame works too.  Add the onion, cilantro and parsley.  Rub the dry oregano in the palm of your clean hands and add to the mix.  Add salt and lime juice to taste.  Mix well.  

In El Salvador we grow a type of chile called Chile Chiltepe.  It is a tiny, red chile that is very hot.  We add it to chirmol for some heat.  In lieu of this type of chile, you can add a chopped jalapeno or two, without the seeds,  (depending on how hot you like your food) for some heat.

Enjoy!