Some like it hot

It's Saturday night in Barcelona, as the girls throw on their heels and the guys slick back their hair I hang around my kitchen compulsively munching on tortilla chips with the worlds best salsa. This notorious salsa is a recipe from my friend Alea, a master of the art of cooking Mexican food. She served the dip at a dinner party and from that moment on I was hooked, unable to resist the sharp sting of spiciness, mixed with the flavors of tomato, cilantro and onion. It is irresistible (and if you love salsa and spice as much as I do you will agree), almost enough so that I just may stay in tonight and indulge.

I have made the heavenly salsa several times before but it never turned out like Alea's until now. Fresh jalapeños are hard to come by in Barcelona. I've searched up and down and very rarely to they pop up at the vegetable stands, forcing me to used bottles ones. But when Alea came back from a trip to Mexico this week and bestowed a gift of everything hot in one little bag, I knew the time had come. Her package included a bag of fresh jalapeños, 3 small jars of canned jalapeños, a bottle of crushed, dried chiles, lemon and salt and a box of Mole.

Thanks to the wonderful gift I can spend my Saturday night listening to the woman outside my window belting out

opera tunes and maybe even finish reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, while indulging in the best of the spicy.

Jalapeño Salsa

4 medium tomatoes

1-2 fresh jalapeños (depending on how hot you like it)

Salt & pepper

Half a small yellow onion, finely chopped

A few sprigs of fresh cilantro, leaves picked and finely chopped

1. Fill a medium sized pot with water and bring to a boil. Add in the tomatoes and jalapeños and boil for 2 minutes.

2. Drain and rinse under cold water.

3. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and put them in a bowl with the jalapeños.

4. Using a hand blender, blend the two together until completely combined, creating a soft red color with bits of green.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to blend.

6. Sprinkle the onion and cilantro on the top of the salsa and serve with tortilla chips.