Salsa

I picked a bumper crop of tomatoes, so you know what that means – salsa! I love salsa – mild, not-so-mild, hot, hotter. I love tomato salsas, bean salsas, fruit salsas, cooked salsas, or fresh salsas. What’s for lunch? Salsa and tortilla chips. You’ve got to get that salsa into your mouth somehow. You know when there are those little pieces of chips in the bottom of the tortilla chip bag? Salsa cereal. Pour the little pieces in a bowl and cover with salsa. Use a big chip or a spoon to get every last bit.

In the spring, I plant tomatoes, garlic, onions, green peppers, chilies and cilantro. This is my salsa garden. When the tomatoes and chilies first start coming on, I make pico de gallo:

PICO DE GALLO

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tomato, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 jalapeño or chili pepper of choice, seeded and  finely chopped

1 small bunch cilantro

Juice of one lime

Salt to taste

Mix it all together, get out the chips and have a wonderful lunch. Or snack. Or appetizer. 

Or you can make:

Tomato and Mango Salsa  

  1  small mango 

  1  large tomato, seeded and chopped 

  1/3  cup chopped red onion 

  1/4  cup minced fresh cilantro 

  1  small jalapeño chili seeded and finely chopped 

  2  tablespoons lime juice 

   Carefully peel skin from mango sections attached to seed. Slice flesh from seed. Chop flesh to measure 1-1/2 cups. Combine all ingredients in small bowl.  

The mango adds a nice contrast to the heat of the chili as does the peach in this recipe: 

PEACH SALSA

2 medium (or 3 small peaches), peeled and cut in cubes

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 green onions, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped, seeded jalapeno pepper

Salt

Pepper

Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Refrigerate 30 minutes. 

This next has a wonderful texture: 

BLACK BEAN SALSA

1/3 c. finely chopped red pepper     

1/4 c. finely chopped red onion       

1/4 c. chopped cucumber     

1/4 c. diced plum tomato 

2 tbs. chopped celery 

2 tbs. chopped jalapeño    

1 tbs. fresh basil       

2 tbs. olive oil  

2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 tbs. fresh lime juice

1 ½ tsp. fresh or ½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3 minced garlic cloves

2 (15 oz) can black beans, slightly mashed

Combine all; stir. Chill 2 hours.

These are all fresh salsas, meant to be eaten that day or the next. But if you have tomatoes by the bushel and a bit of time on your hands try: 

ROASTED TOMATO SALSA

Pour a little olive oil on 2 baking sheets.

Cut up

Tomatoes

Garlic

Onions

and chilies

Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast very slowly – about 300° for several hours. Stir every 25 minutes at first, then more often as it thickens. When it gets very thick and most of the liquid is gone, transfer to a large pot, blender, or food processor.

Add:

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. vinegar

1 small can tomato paste

More kosher salt if necessary.

Blend or process until mostly smooth. Put in sterile jars (I got 2 quarts) and pressure cook according to current recommendations. 

If you have any left over, get a fresh tortilla or piece of bread. Layer cooked thin sliced steak or roast, grated cheese, and cilantro. Then spread some of this roasted salsa over the top. There are no words to describe, but your tongue will love you.

This next one is our family favorite. When I made some last week, our son-in-law got all misty-eyed and hugged me like there were no words (and believe me, this guys knows a lot of words) to describe his happiness, all because I was making his favorite salsa.

The tomatoes are the easy part. To peel them, drop them in boiling (and it needs to be boiling) water for a couple of minutes. Then put them in cold water and the skins should slip right off.

Chilies give it the flavor. Use any combination of chilies that you may have. To roast the chilies: if you have a grill, roast the chilies on the racks for about 5 minutes per side. Turn once or twice till the skins are dark. Do NOT peel off the skins. When they are cool, cut off the tops and pull out the seeds. Or you can do this on your stove’s cook top. Put them in a cast iron pan and cook till the skins are dark. Or you can hold them with tongs over a flame if you have a gas cook top. Any way will work. And any way will smell fabulous! Really fabulous. That is one of the smells of late summer – roasting chilies. And it adds a delicious smoky flavor to the salsa.

You can also cut this recipe in half if you don’t have as many tomatoes or chilies. 

FAMILY FAVORITE SALSA  

About 90 tomatoes       

10-12 onions      

10-12 green peppers      

1 stalk chopped celery     

2-3 garlic cloves

8-10 jalapeno chilies, roasted

4-5 Anaheim (light green chilies), roasted

4-5 Hungarian (lime green or gold), roasted

4-5 Cayenne (red), roasted  

½ c. vinegar             

½  - ¾ c. non-iodized salt – start with a low amount and taste towards the end of the cooking process to see if you need more.

2 small cans tomato paste

½ c. sugar

Peel tomatoes, and quarter. Place in large kettle.  

Finely chop all chilies, onions, peppers, and garlic. If you have a food processor, this will really help for chopping this quantity of vegetables. And wear latex gloves when you take the seeds out of the chilies! Even if they are roasted, they can make your fingers burn for hours. And do not rub your eyes. Ouch.

Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer till desired consistency, about 3-6 hours depending on how juicy the tomatoes are.

Bottle in sterile jars. Pressure cook according to current recommendations. Makes about 14 wonderful quarts.

On the left is the Roasted Tomato Salsa; on the right is the Family Favorite Salsa.

So make some salsa. Make a little, make a lot. Make your tummy happy.