I love me a nice gordita. NOT, as it happens, a REAL gordita, which is more like a pasty. Nope, I long for the gordita as marketed by Taco Bell – or sold as one of those boxed kits in the market (this image is a dinner I made a while back with one of those kits and some buttermilk-marinated, then grilled, chicken).
Thing is, it turns out what I REALLY love is the sauce. So imagine my displeasure when I found that the sauce in our boxed kit of choice had taken to tasting like chemicals.
And not in a good way.
QuickLikeaBunny, I went to da Google for help and guidance.
And da Google answered, ermmm, in the form of a Princess Buttercup (no, not the Princess Buttercup – who do you think I am, Inigo Montoya?) and her Baja Clone Sauce. I switched out her recipe a bit to fit my pantry, and set to making me some sauce.
Nice.
Actually, better than nice. Take this sauce, a bit of my home made chili powder to season the meat, some fresh tortillas and your cheese and toppings of choice, and you can, indeed, run for the border – leaving boxed mix and fast food chain behind.
INGREDIENTS
•1/2 red pepper
•4 tbsp jalapeño slices
•3 ‘hot’ cherry peppers
•5 tbsp diced onion
•1 cup mayonnaise
•1 tbsp vinegar – I used Heinz Salad Vinegar
•1/4 tsp black pepper
•1/8 tsp garlic powder
•1/8 tsp cumin
The ‘hot’ cherry peppers are Italian pickled peppers from a jar I was trying to use up, along with the last of a jar of hot jalapeño nacho slices; feel free to just use one fresh jalapeño.
Purée the peppers with the onion in your food processor fitted with the metal blade.
Turn into a bowl and stir in the mayonnaise, vinegar, and seasonings.
Transfer to a jar and let rest in the fridge for at least a couple of hours (overnight is better) to allow the flavor to develop.
Great on gorditas; and not too, too bad on a salad.