Friday, August 12, 2011

The Best Salsa Ever

With garden season in full swing, it must be time to make salsa!  I've tried a few versions, and I go back to this one every time.  The spices really give the salsa a nice flavor, and you can easily adjust the amounts of ingredients to your liking (spicy - add both jalapenos, not so spicy - hold back a little).  Its the perfect blend for a salsa - not to chunky, not too watery.  Its a great salsa to eat with chips, but I have also used it for other Mexican cooking, to top our eggs with, and I have even had success canning this recipe.

Annie's original recipe called for 2 large vine tomatoes and 1 can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes.  Since we have more tomatoes in our garden than we know what to do with, I just used a bunch of tomatoes, maybe 8-12 or so, depending on size.  If the batch seems like it might be too spicy, I add in another tomato or two.  I usually quarter the tomatoes and add about 6-8 full tomatoes to the food processor, then I remove the "guts" of the others so the salsa isn't too watery.  If your food processor is getting a little full, you can always process the tomatoes separately then stir everything together at the end.

The Best Salsa
adapted slightly from Annie's Eats

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, halved
8-12 large vine-ripened tomatoes, OR 2 tomatoes and 1-28oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped (I have also used red onion, or half red and half yellow)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (more if you really like cilantro)
juice of one lime

DIRECTIONS:
1.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2.  Add all other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in very brief pulses until the vegetables have reached the size you desire (it does not take many pulses so don’t overdo it).
3.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

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