Salsa Dancing

Okay.. before I jump into this salsa thing, I would like to report that the tomato has been harvested.  Still needs a little ripening on the windowsill, but it's done!  I pulled a couple of cucumbers, too but haven't tried one yet.  My mom gobbled one right down though..  so I guess they're good.

Okay, I think I mentioned before that one of the things I love to do is make salsa -- LOVE fresh salsa.. and I like it chunky as opposed to runny so I'm going to give you my top secret recipe here.. and I'll be honest -- it changes all the time.  The basics are there, but I'll switch up the type of pepper.. or the type of onion.. the type of citrus or the seasonings.  To be COMPLETELY honest, I think you can't make a bad salsa if you start with the basics. These are the basics:

Tomato. Onion. Pepper. Lime. Salt. Garlic. (the salt and garlic were busy and were late to the photo shoot.  both were fined and reprimanded). In my opinion, it doesn't matter what kind of anything you use, combining these basics is going to give you a delicious salsa.

As you can see, I prefer to chop all my ingredients by hand but you may prefer a salsa that is more dip-like and so I would recommend using a blender or a Magic Bullet on pulse -- you don't want complete liquid, after all. I'm sometimes fond of using my smash chopper.  That's the gadget that you put large chunks of things inside and then smash down on the handle and it chops for you.. though I do find that chopping by hand is really very satisfying.  Like doing it all by hand means I did it with love or some schmaltz like that.  Really, I just enjoy the occupation of my time on something like this.

So I start with the tomato -- and I use very firm tomatoes.  I am fond of meaty tomatoes so I almost always use Romas.  In this case, for whatever insane reason, our local grocer was out of Romas except for TWO.. so I also took some vine tomatoes as well.  Then I de-mush them.  This is the one thing I will not concede -- you need to de-mush your tomato.

I mean it.  No Tomato Mush. Blech!

I used two large romas and two medium sized vine tomatoes for this batch.  As I explained, I like a chunky salsa so I chop my tomatoes in somewhat large chunks -- I prepare my salsas as Pico de Gallo but you can feel free to adjust to your own taste.  Once the tomatoes are de-mushed and chopped, I sprinkle a generous pinch of salt onto them and mix it in.

The onion I used today was Vidalia -- but I actually prefer to use sweet red onion or shallots.  I tend to stay away from white onions because I think the flavor overpowers everything else.. but you may disagree or prefer a very oniony salsa.  it's all up to you.  I chopped up a little less than half of the medium sized onion I picked and mixed that in with the chopped tomato.

Crush a clove of garlic and mix in.

Now, here's where it starts to get good.  Do not fear the peppers.  For the simplest salsa, I use a combination of Jalapeno and Serrano peppers.  I like some heat in anything that can have it so I tend to be heavy handed and use hotter peppers in my cooking.  I like to let my Jalapenos age because they actually get hotter the older and redder they get.  Mine have just barely started to go soft from green.  If you're not familiar with the different peppers out there, you can always use a pepper guide like this one or even this one.  To give you an idea of how they are rated for heat, a Pepperoncini is rated at 100 to 500 Scoville Heat units, whereas a Habanero pepper will rate between 100,000 and 300,000 Scoville units.  Aye Caramba!  To limit the heat you get from the pepper you choose, you can also devein and deseed it.  The less vein and seed you include, the less heat you'll get from the pepper.  And please PLEASE remember to wash your hands thoroughly before you accidentally touch your eyes.  There is no pain as intense and inescapable as pepper juice in your eye.. speaking from experience.  So, chop up those peppers and toss 'em in.  Then wash your hands.

The last of the staples is Lime -- well, technically citrus.  I like lime because I enjoy that tart, mouth-wateringly bright flavor.  I like it so much, I don't just squeeze in the juice, I include pulp AND zest.  If you've never tried it, do zest and pulp your citrus.  It pumps the flavor up about 10 notches and will make the tomato flavor absolutely pop.  You could also use lemon and, depending on the salsa you're making, even orange. Don't be afraid to give sweet a try!

Once all these things are mixed in, I like to add whatever is handy from the spice cabinet.  I'm not particularly fond of dried spices in most cases -- especially if I have fresh available -- but today I was lazy and just tossed in a little dried mint and some dried cilantro.  Mix and mix and..  voila! It's so bright and fresh and crisp.  If I had thought a little further ahead, I might have tossed in some cucumber, too.. maybe even a little celery tops..   mental note for next time.

So give it a try and let me know what you think -- how did you alter it?  What would you do different next time?

I know you'll love it, though.  Trust me!  I've been eating all my life!