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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

All About Salsa

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I am a big fan of salsa and dishes that are served with it. I like the fresh variety a whole lot better than the canned or bottled ones. They are tastier and they compliment even the simplest food like chips well.

You can prepare it ahead of time and refrigerate it. It usually lasts for a week.

 

Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons finely chopped white onion

2 small cloves garlic, minced

3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeds removed, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)

2 hot chili peppers, Serrano or Jalapeno, finely chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons minced basil

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons tomato sauce or ketchup

Salt

Combine all the ingredients. Mix well and keep in a covered container. Refrigerate before serving.

 

Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb tomatillos, husked

1/2 cup chopped white onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup cilantro or basil leaves

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 Serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped

Salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients. Mix well and keep in a covered container. Refrigerate before serving.

 

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 Jalapeño chili, minced

1 small cucumber, peeled and

3 Tbsp fresh cilantro or basil leaves, chopped

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients. Mix well and keep in a covered container. Refrigerate before serving.

 

Photo Courtesy Of: °Florian

You say tomato, I say tomatillo

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tomatillo
The first time I ever heard of a tomatillo was from Bobby Flay on his Hot Off the Grill show (remember that one?) He made fish with tomatillo sauce, and at first I thought I could simply interchange it with good old regular tomatoes- then I decided to do some research.

Tomatillos are related to tomatoes. They’re called tomate verde in Mexico (literally, green tomato) and- here’s where they differ enormously from tomatoes- they have husks. You know, like corn husks. Only not. For this reason, they’re also called husk tomatoes.

These babies have a sweet slash tart flavor, and are a bit fruity. They’re particularly awesome in sauces and salsas- you’ll be surprised at what a difference they make from using regular tomatoes- but are also wonderful just grilled or roasted, sprinkled with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt.

Finally, let me leave you with a quick recipe for delicious Tomatillo Salsa:

Crush two cloves of garlic with a teaspoon of kosher salt. To this, add a coarsely chopped yellow onion, some chopped serrano chiles to taste (if you want it mild, remove the seeds before chopping), and around four to six large tomatillos which have been roughly chopped. Mix in some chopped cilantro to taste, and cubes of avocado if you wish.