Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Salsa

This is definitely salsa season and I'm happy to say I've finally been able to make some fresh salsa from my own garden produce. MMMmmmm! I'm really terrible about measurements when it comes to salsa and sauces. This is normally how I make salsa:
Chop enough tomatoes to fill your bowl about half to 3/4 full.
Add a little less than half as many onions as tomatoes.
Chop enough peppers to thickly cover everything else in the bowl.
Add an entire bunch of cilantro finely chopped (I love cilantro!)
Sprinkle salt all over the top layer of veggies.
Squeeze a couple limes into the bowl
Add garlic a couple cloves at a time until it tastes right.
Add more salt if it needs it.
Add some ground cumin and chile powder if I feel like it.
Taste again.
Add more stuff if necessary.

Since that's not exactly a coherent recipe for most people I did try to keep track of exactly what I put into my salsa these last few times I've made it. Keep in mind this makes a large batch. If your family doesn't put salsa on everything like we do then you may want to halve everything. Enjoy!

Fresh Salsa

10 cups diced tomatoes (about 5 pounds)
1 1/2 cups finely diced mild peppers (like chiles, bell pepper, banana pepper)
1 cup finely diced jalapeno peppers, seeds removed (substitute for more mild peppers if you don't like spicy)
3 cups chopped onion
1 bunch cilantro
1 tbsp red chile powder, ground
1 tbsp ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup lime juice (fresh squeezed it will be 2-3 limes)

Dice tomatoes and add to a large bowl. I always like to hand chop my tomatoes so they don't become frothy. I also like them to be pretty which is hard to do with a food processor. Remove stems and seeds from peppers. You should wear plastic gloves for this step... I never do, but almost always wish that I had... Coarsley chop onions, peppers, and cilantro. Add to food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add chile powder, ground cumin, garlic, salt and lime juice. Mix to combine everything. Use within 3-5 days.

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