I’ve made several attempts at a home made salsa and it’s starting to get there. I’ve got the preparation down and still need to experiment with the spices and flavors. The last batch I made I took to a bbq and it was a hit. Yes, this is a sign of maturity. I’ve always been the guy who brings a bag of Tostitos and a jar of salsa to any event, but now I’m raising my game to another level. I think I’m at junior varsity now.
Back to the salsa…
Buy these things:
- half a dozen tomatoes
- lime
- FRESH cilantro. Avoid the jarred stuff. Actually just throw that stuff away. I’ve tried it and it’s bunk.
- half an onion
- one fresh jalapeno pepper
Do these things:
- cut the tomatoes length wise in half. De-seed them. This is probably the most important step. If you don’t de-seed you end up with a watery mix of something that you’d still eat but you wouldn’t bring out at a dinner party.
- chop the tomatoes into small squares/cubes. Making them small improves the eatability. I’ve experimented with bigger chunks and the experience isn’t as enjoyable.
- chop up the onion into small pieces. Again, you don’t want your guests to be biting down on large chunks of onions.
- go to town on the cilantro. Chop it up, destem as much as you can tolerate and then chop it to fine pieces.
- stand the jalapeno up and cut it down length wise. The seeds bring the fire so keep a lot or a little of them, as you wish. Chop the flesh into very small pieces as these will have kick in them and you don’t want to overwhelm your guests.
- Mix everything together really well.
- Roll the lime around under your palm on the counter top before you cut it. Then squeeze the entire thing over the salsa.
At this point it’s ready to eat, but if you give it 30 minutes or so and let everything meld together, it’ll be worth it.
No picture for this recipe unfortunately. I was in a rush to get to the bbq. Next time!
a meal with basil 