Georgiabelle salad

[oldcoot]

We met, purely by chance, in a tiny, out-of-the-way village in Mexico some 40 years ago. It was our first venture into Mexico - a camping trip.

Gergiabelle and her husband, Ismael, were Chilean, also on a camping vacation from their present residence in California. Ismael turned out to have been a close friend of my uncle, an agricultural missionary in Chile for many years. Small world.

Anyway, Georiabelle prepared a luncheon for us, including a chilled salad. But there was no ice for many miles. She told us her secret.

After dicing (small) a variety of vegetables: carrots, jicama, sweet peppers, celery, etc., and adding some drained canned peas, she seasoned with salt and pepper, thentossed and spread the mixture in a large, flat pan. Then she liberally sprinkled it with good tequila, and set it in the sun!!!

Rhe rapid evaporation of the alcohol in the tequila quickly cooled the salad.

What a welcome dish on a scorching desert day!

 

[BubbaGourmet]

I love tequila.

 

[pdswife]

Wow! That sounds good. Tequila is one of my favorites.

 

[ironchef]

Oldcoot, have you made this a lot on your own? Do you have any recommendations for the tequila and does the quality of the spirit matter any?

 

[mudbug]

That's amazing. Does it have to be tequila?

 

[oldcoot]

Ah, fellow tequila lovefs - my kind of folks!
Yes, I have made this salad quite a few times. B/W and I do the rustic cooking thing )over an open fire in a pit on the ground) almost annually, u
just for fun and reminiscing.

The quality of tequila is not terribly important, as not a whole lot is used, and the flavors of the vegetables tend to overpower it. Still, one cannot go wrong using a well flavored tequila. As with wines, if it doesn't taste good "neat", then it should not be used in recipes.
I have used, for about 35 years, the same tequila invariably, for all purposes. It is, so far as I know, unavailable in the U.S., so I have to run down to Tijuana, Mexico, to replenish supplies. It is called "Orendain Ollitas Reposdado". Not expensive, but very good - at least in the opinion of myself and all of my drinking friends - many of whom are Mexican.

Anyway, while not the greatest salad in the world, it is kind of fun to make just beause of the unexpected chilling by being set in warm sun. I doubt it would work on any but a very hot day.

 

[selma]

Cool trick!

 

[biev]

I'm going to remember that next time I go for a picnic on the beach ^_^ It's always so hard to think of food that will resist the heat.