turn on the HEAT!

in the mood for something spicy? well, i was! my friends jenn and chris made this wonderful lime-cilantro tofu with pickled tomato salsa dish for me some time ago and i wanted to recreate it for marc oliver ... poor guy, his taste buds got a little assaulted by the heat in this recipe! but unlike so many overly spicy dishes in which the heat mutes the other flavours, this one still retains all the wonderful aromas of coriander, cumin and lime. so if you like spice, this one is for you. of course it can be easily adapted for your less heat loving friends by reducing the amount of cayenne this recipe calls for.

here is the recipe for the salsa ... courtesy of mattbites.com (with some modifications). as for the tofu, it was marinated in lime, chopped cilantro, crushed coriander seeds and some oil. after a couple of hours of this tasty bath, you can grill or bake it. yum!

pickled tomato salsa

1 clam shell cherry tomatoes (i like the yellow/red mix)
0.5 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced or 0.5 red onion, diced
2 Serrano chiles, with seeds, chopped
0.5 Cup white vinegar
2 T brown sugar
2 t salt
4 t freshly grated ginger
1 T minced garlic
2 t coriander seeds (crushed in a mortar)
2 t cracked black peppercorns
2 t ground cumin
1 t cayenne
0.5 t turmeric
0.25 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1. in a large bowl, toss tomatoes with scallions and chilies.
2. in a medium saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. add brown sugar and salt, and cook until dissolved, about 1 minute. remove from heat and reserve.
3. measure ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cracked peppercorns, cumin, cayenne and turmeric onto a plate and place near stove. in another medium saucepan, heat oil over moderate heat until just smoking. add spices and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until aromas are released, about 2 minutes. remove from heat and stir in vinegar mixture. immediately pour over reserved tomato mixture. stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or several days.
4. before serving, remove tomatoes from juices, roughly chop, and return to pickling liquid.