STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Chef Chris Koetke stood in the spacious kitchen of the new Sun Valley Culinary Institute surrounded by sunflower seeds, serrano chilies, almonds, chile mulato and roasted salted peanuts.

He was determined to change a few minds about Mexican cooking among the foodies sitting on the other side of a tall glass partition encasing the kitchen in an iconic 1884 brick building on Ketchum’s Main Street.

“Today I want to introduce you to the Mexico I know,” he said as he described a people who “live life and live life well.”

Most Americans, he acknowledged, think of pico de gallo made of chopped tomato, onion and peppers when they think of Mexican salsa.

In reality, Mexican cuisine is unbelievably diverse, he said, owing in part to the fact that Mexico is the second most ethnically diverse country in the world.

Over the next two hours, Koetke demonstrated how to make such things as Peanut Salsa, a rich fruit-twinged mole and Green Pipian, an Aztec sauce made of such ingredients as radish leaves, leaf lettuce and either sunflower, pumpkin or sesame seeds.

“The reason I love to share this salsa is to show you that Mexican salsa goes way beyond what you may think of,” said Koetke, who hosted “Let’s Dish” on the LiveWell Network, has cooked at the world-famous Le Francais in Wheeling, Ill., and studied at Patisserie Mage in Geneva, Switzerland, and the L’Academic du Vin and L’Association des Sommeliers de Paris.

The class was titled simply “Mexican Salsas.” But anyone thinking it would be about 10 different ways to chop tomatoes, onions and jalapeno peppers was happily mistaken.

The class was packed with entertaining stories about Mexican cuisine, some of it culled from Koetke’s time working in restaurants there. And no one left hungry by the time they’d tried small dishes featuring pork tenderloin with mole, salmon with the Green Pipian salsa and a Chicken Tinga featuring smoky chipotle chilies and topped with queso fresco and crema.

“Not only is Chef Koetke a great chef but he’s a fabulous entertainer and a great instructor who takes time for every one of us,” said Kit Wright. “I took a duck class. I never liked duck, but I’m the kind of person who gives both food and people a second chance. And everything he made I fell in love with.”

Carrie Morrow has taken four classes since they started a month ago.

“The classes are amazing. Chef Chris is an expert, truly, and he talks about such things as how smelling is so important. I learned all about lamb, from the parts of the animal to how to fix Moroccan meatballs, in one and the recipes were fabulous. And I took a cupcake decorating class from Mary Jones of the Chocolate Moose and learned how to roll out fondant and stamp impressions and the different methods for piping.”

To address safety concerns in the age of COVID, the Sun Valley Culinary Institute has limited the number of participants in each class to eight so they can be spread out. Participants get their temperature checked, a hearty dose of hand sanitizer and they’re told to wear face coverings at all time, save for a few split seconds while tasting samples cooked up in class.

 Chef Chris Koetke works behind a glass partition and he wears a face shield so participants can see his face as he talks.

That face shield sometimes spells trouble he hadn’t counted on, however. Like when he goes to taste something and ends up planting it on his face shield instead of in his mouth. Or when the spicy aroma of chilies gets trapped between the shield and his face.

On more than one occasion his eyes watered as he lifted the face shield slightly to wave away the tear-inducing heat with his hand.

In cooking school, they teach you to use all your senses,” he said, noting how a slurping sound, for instance, means something’s about to boil over. “And you know there’s going to be a massive mess to clean up because of that one second delay!” he said.

One of the salsas Koetke trotted out for the class was a Peanut Salsa, which he called the “easiest, fastest sauce.”

“Peanuts were originally from Africa so this would not have existed pre-Columbus,” he said.

Over the course of preparing the recipe, attendees learn that the thickener is the peanuts, that there’s a Mexican store in Twin Falls with divine pastries and that key limes are favored over the bigger Persian limes for salsas.

“To find out how hot a chili pepper is—and I don’t recommend that you do this—cut it in half and dip your tongue for just a second on the white part,” he said, noting that the seeds and the inside white rib are the hottest part.

Remember to wash your hands after working with chilies, he is quick to add, or else you might touch your eye and—ouch!

The Green Pipian sauce Koetke taught the class is an example of an Aztec sauce, made with sunflower, pumpkin or sesame seeds as the thickener. There’s a lot of interest in pre-Columbian cooking right now, the difference being that the sauce is pureed in a blender rather than by hand in a molcajete.

The interest in Aztec cooking has revived a practice of cooking grasshoppers, especially in Oaxaca where carts selling grasshoppers fill the streets, he added.

Mole—a traditional marinade and sauce used in Mexican cuisine--has a very special place in the hearts of Mexicans, noted Koetke.

The class watched as Koetke’s mole transformed from a color resembling the red desert rock of Utah to the dark hue of refried black beans. While it contains ¾ table of chocolate abuelita, it is not a chocolate sauce, Koetke was quick to note.

There have been a few times in world when food changed dramatically, Koetke said. The first was when Columbus visited the New World. Before that, Mexico had no chickens or almonds, which originated in the Middle East. Before Columbus brought back foods from the New World to the Old, there were no chilies for paprika in Hungary, no tomatoes in Europe.

There are nine families of mole, including red and black, but a thousand ways to make mole, Koetke said. Just as many Italian families prize their special spaghetti sauce, Mexican families have their distinctive mole.

Koetke described how Mexicans sip their tequila from a shot glass. And he suggested kitchen items anyone who’s serious about Mexican cooking should have, such as a flat comal skillet. The skillet, available at a Mexican store in Bellevue, can be used for making tortillas, browning chilies and toasting black peppercorns and cinnamon to bring out the flavor.

“As with Indian food, when you roast spices the roasting brings out immense flavor,” he said.

“I give you recipes today, but don’t get overly attached to them,” he added. “There’s no reason in the world you can’t add your own touch.”

Koetke said he has relished teaching the classes even though COVID restrictions currently keep attendees from gathering around a table with him, wielding knives as they help chop.

“Everyone’s just having fun,” he said.

Coming attractions include classes spotlighting Wild Salmon 101, Seafood, and Dessert Sauces, along with a tribute to Julia Child, whom Koetke spent time with. Guest chefs will teach classes between Aug. 15 and Sept. 20. Then Koetke returns to the kitchen to teach a month’s worth of classes.

The Culinary Institute strives to create experiences that are new and different in Sun Valley and Ketchum, said Karl Johan Uri, the director of the institute.

“I encourage people if they have class ideas, know chefs who may be interested in teaching a class or are interested in private classes to contact the institute,” he added.

To learn more, visit https://sunvalleyculinary.org.

CHEF CHRIS KOETKE’S PEANUT SALSA

1.25 cups roasted salted peanuts

1 cup seeded and diced tomatoes

½ cup diced white onions

½ jalapeno chile, chopped

Cayenne to taste

1 small garlic clove, chopped

 ½-3/4 cup chicken broth, warmed in the microwave

¼ teaspoon salt

2.5 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves

Place all ingredients in the blender, except for the cilantro. Puree until smooth. Pour the contents of the blender into a bowl and mix in cilantro. Refrigerate until needed.