Damn Good Salsa
January 1992
by Chris Lott and Bill Regli
This is a classic tomato salsa recipe with plenty of cilantro, cumin,
and heat. We sacrificed our taste buds just for this! Try our
version once and you’ll never eat supermarket salsa again.
Ingredients
- 1 28-oz can peeled whole tomatoes
- 1 large red onion
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 to 5 large jalapeno peppers (or serrano chilies, banana peppers, etc.)
- 2 mild green chilies (optional)
- 2 tsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (Chinese parsley, must be fresh);
I usuallly put in much more.
- 2 Tbl red wine vinegar
- juice of a fresh lime (critical)
- 1 tsp cumin (or less)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or less)
Directions
- Chop tomatoes coarsely and use every drop of the juice
- Clean and chop onions to desired coarseness
- Clean and chop garlic finely, or use a garlic press
- Clean and chop peppers and chilies (I use the seeds)
- Combine everything in a large cook-pot and stir well
- Heat the salsa to a boil, allow to cook for just a minute or two
- Put salsa in jars.
Variations
- Fire-roasted salsa: Roast fresh plum tomatoes in the oven;
discard the blackened peels.
- Smoky salsa: Use chipotle (smoked jalapeno) peppers instead of fresh.
Notes
The heat in peppers varies widely, even among ones that look
identical; red coloring in the ribs means they’re hot.
Also, do the chopping by hand. Food processors shred the
onions and tomatoes rather than chop them.
Cooking releases the oils and flavors from the ingredients
and softens the onions.
The salsa is excellent when served with unsalted tortilla chips.
Keep the jars refrigerated until use. It also freezes very well.
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