One among my favourite inquiries to ask individuals is to call their desert island scorching sauce.
Whereas I commiserate with my fellow capsaicin lovers over our masochistic tendencies, I’m not that within the degree of warmth that your reply signifies you’re able to enduring. I’m extra occupied with what your reply says concerning the type of stability your palate finds ideally suited.
Many people attain for a sauce that leads with the flavors of its add-ins — alliums like garlic and onion, fruits similar to papaya and tomato, and herbs and spices like thyme or allspice. Others desire a vinegar-based sauce that’s simply as bitter as it’s spicy. Then there are some that like life with slightly funk, and go for a fermented scorching sauce that layers depth and complexity beneath the warmth.
I sit someplace in that center class, dallying sometimes with the fruity and funky choices on both facet. I’m a sucker for acidic punch in nearly something I eat, and like a vinegar-forward scorching sauce. So for the longest time, my reply to this query waffled between Crystal, Tabasco, and Frank’s.
Till, that’s, I met Salsa Espinaler.
This iconic Catalan condiment traces its roots to a humble tavern in Vilassar de Mar, a city simply north of Barcelona on the Balearic coast. There, within the late 1800s, Miquel Riera y Prat served wine and varied pintxos, most of which relied on the abundance of seafood the realm has to supply. Salsa Espinaler, he discovered, amplified the flavors of the meals, lending it brightness and refined warmth. That’s precisely what it did to a tin of mackerel I grabbed at a Spanish market on a latest journey to LA.
I used to be solely in California for a couple of extra days, however in that point, I practically drained the bottle. Fortunately, the dimensions I picked up clocked in at 3.1 ounces, a mere 0.3 shy of the TSA carry-on cap. It was nearly as if the bottle was made to fly throughout home and worldwide borders, rescuing every part from the blandest airline meals to no matter would possibly lie on the opposite facet upon touchdown. I scattered the previous few drops over creamy mac and cheese, right into a bloody mary, and over contemporary shucked oysters.
Once I finally ran out, it didn’t take a lot time to get one other bottle. I discovered not solely the OG Salsa Espinaler but in addition its spicier sibling and quite a lot of the model’s extra merchandise at cheese outlets and Spanish markets in my space, most notably José Andrés’s Mercado Little Spain in Manhattan.
I started exploring the model’s tinned fish line and located that every part from their mussels to sliced octopus in Galician sauce takes effectively to a droplet or two of Salsa Espinaler. One among my favourite discoveries was the model’s potato chips — patatas fritas, the Spanish type which can be sliced skinny and fried in olive oil. They carry little or no salt, one thing you received’t miss if you prime every chip with a nugget of tinned albacore or a pickled clam. End that with Salsa Espinaler and also you’ve stumbled upon a really incredible pairing. Once I eat it, I wish to think about myself sitting at that tavern on the Balearic Coast doing because the Catalans did, having fun with the bounty of the ocean in one another’s firm.
I haven’t been capable of finding a lot on the make-up of the model’s signature sauce, other than the naked required minimal ingredient listing. “Vinegar, crimson pepper, cayenne, and spices” is so far as I’ve gotten. That’s honest: if you’re working with so little, guarding the mix of substances is essential, proper together with guaranteeing these substances are of the absolute best high quality.
It’s that simplicity and a spotlight to high quality that make Salsa Espinaler so versatile — and, I’d argue, assist stop its taste from being regionally or culturally pigeonholed. Whereas the sauce proudly touts Spain’s nationwide colours and celebrates a historical past that’s deeply rooted in Catalan foods and drinks tradition, it’s pleasant with many different neighboring cuisines, in addition to those who have little in widespread with its homeland. I’ve completed pozole rojo with it, added it to do-it-yourself mole, and positioned it on a cheese board, the place it was the right foil to a wealthy and creamy Spanish blue Valdeon. It’s been the go-to for weeknight quesadillas, the selection to toss right into a scorching bowl of buttery popcorn, the right companion to any variety of soups or stews, and one half of a fast pork dumpling sauce thrown collectively in a pinch. I’ve dipped pizza bones into it, drizzled it over many a full Irish breakfast, and used it so as to add slightly extra acid to a fiery Thai larb.
Salsa Espinaler’s capability to be whoever you want it to be and make associates with no matter you occur to be consuming is simple. Sure, the composition of my fridge at dwelling might be slightly below 50 p.c scorching sauces and varied adjoining condiments, and I completely indulge within the flavors of every on a rotating foundation. However Salsa Espinaler — the just-spicy-enough virtuoso of versatility — appears to be the one I attain for many. That’s why it rings in as my prime candidate for the one and solely sauce I’d have with me if discovered stranded on a desert island (or caught in an airport with a sandwich in want of seasoning). In actual fact, there’s a bottle in my bag proper now.
