The Inspiration
Many years ago I used to watch a PBS show called The Frugal Gourmet on Saturday afternoons. This and a few others began my love of cooking shows. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet did an entire cookbook about ethnic cooking featuring authentic recipes from immigrants. It was called The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors, published by Avon Books back in 1990. In this cookbook was a recipe for salsa, from what I could tell it was an authentic recipe. I’ve used this recipe over the years with a little bit of my own added touches to make it my own.
Salsa is such a great and versatile way to use up summer tomatoes. It’s quick, it’s easy and can be used in other recipes as I’ll show in a later post. Salsa recipes call for a lot of chopping but can be made in a food processor if it’s pulsed so that the tomatoes aren’t turned into mush. To use the food processor place the tomatoes cut into pieces into the food processor. The onions and garlic can also be added if cut into smaller pieces. The herbs (cilantro or parsley can then be added) and the vinegar can be added along with the salt and pepper. My version varies here, sometimes I add chopped jalapenos or chopped green chilies if I want it a little milder. I’ve even added the liquid from the jar of jalapenos to give the salsa a little kick. I vary the herbs too but most of the time I use parsley just because that’s what we grow.
I very rarely use the food processor. There is something that’s almost relaxing about chopping vegetables repeatedly. After a while it almost becomes soothing. By hand chopping you can make sure that the tomatoes, onions and garlic are all the correct size so that someone doesn’t bit into a huge hunk of garlic.
His recipe calls for a small can of tomato sauce to be stirred in at the end and also some Victoria’s brand salsa jalapena, which I omit, along with finely chopped green peppers.
The thing about a cookbook like this is that you can take the basic recipe and give it whatever kind of twist you like. And it’s versatile. Use it in almost anything. That’s the great thing about cooking. If you have the basic you can then turn it into whatever you like. Add more garlic, try tomatillos instead of red tomatoes. Maybe add a hotter chili or a different kind of pepper. You might even want to roast the vegetables first to give the whole salsa a smoky flavor.
To make basic salsa here’s what you’ll need:
4 cups of chopped tomatoes, plum or cherry (can even use diced, canned tomatoes if they are drained)
1 small onion chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoon parsley or cilantro finely chopped
splash of vinegar, either red wine or white
salt and pepper to taste
5 chopped jalapeno or more or less depending on the heat level you like
You can also add a tablespoon or so of the liquid from the jar of jalapenos if you don’t use fresh.
Prepare all the ingredients and place in a large bowl. Can be used immediately or kept covered in the refrigerator. The longer it sits the more intense the flavor will be. I like to eat it right away when it’s fresh.
When I made a bowl of salsa this past weekend, it was just my husband and I at home. I took some flour tortillas cut them into wedges and fried them in my deep fryer. We dipped the warm, crispy, salty homemade chips into the freshly made salsa. Needless to say we ate the whole bowl. Well not quite, I actually had some leftover to make taco sloppy joes with salsa and cheddar. The recipe will follow in the next post.
Have a favorite salsa recipe? Think yours is an improvement on the basic?
Then share.