Fresh Salsa
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Number of Servings: 64
Ingredients
8-10 pounds tomatoes4 pounds sweet peppers (bell or similar)1 pound hot peppers (jalapeno, poblano, long hot, banana hot, finger hot are all nice)2 pounds or more onions (white, yellow, and/or red)1 bunch scallions8-10 cloves garlicjuice of 4 limesjuice of 2-4 lemons1/4 - 1/2 cup vinegar (cider is nice)1/2 cup olive oil1 tbsp brown sugar1 tsp cumin1 tsp oregano2 tsp salt (more to taste)crushed red pepper, black pepper, sriracha, coriander, paprika, ... to taste
Obtain a large bowl or pot for mixing.
Dice the tomatoes, sweet peppers, and onions. Slice the scallions, and mince the garlic. (DO NOT use a food processor.) Do the hot peppers last, or else chop them into a separate bowl. Before you add them, touch your finger to your lips. Add them based on your reaction to the peppers - more if you're OK with the heat, less if it's too intense. Remember, you can always add heat, but you can't take it out.
Tip: When you cut the tomatoes, watch the amount of juice you let into the bowl. Round tomatoes tend to give off a lot of juice and leave only a little body. You can gut the tomatoes if you want - that will reduce the water -- but make sure you use enough tomatoes to compensate for the loss of volume. I prefer plum tomatoes because they don't have as much juice, but it is a LOT more cutting.
Now, before you do anything else, mix it all up. Look at the colors. Is there too much white? Too much green? Not enough? It should be a vibrant and festive mix, about 40-50% red. Adjust if you need to.
Juice the lemons and limes, and mix that in very well. Add the sugar, cumin, and oregano, and any other spices you might choose. Save the oil/vinegar and the salt for last. Be sure to taste it as you're going to ensure that your spice mixture is good. The salt should brighten and emphasize each of the flavors at this stage, but it shouldn't taste salty. Feel free to adjust your heat with extra peppers or by slipping in some alternate sources of heat. Watch your liquid levels when you're adding the oil and vinegar. They are essential, but this is salsa, not gazpacho.
When you're satisfied with the flavor, mix everything up really well, and then set it aside for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight or longer. Time is the BEST flavoring agent for fresh salsa - the flavors marry in a way that your mouth just can't achieve on its own.
This works really well on chips, on veggies, in omelets, in burritos or fajitas or nachos, on top of lettuce as a salad, or pretty much any way you like to eat salsa.
VARIATION:
Substitute fruit (peaches, mangoes, and finely minced pineapple all work VERY well) for some of the tomatoes. The color balance will shift, so shift your expectations accordingly.
This recipe makes about 8 quarts (64 1-cup servings). Scale as you see fit.
Number of Servings: 64
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JRMURRAY8.
Dice the tomatoes, sweet peppers, and onions. Slice the scallions, and mince the garlic. (DO NOT use a food processor.) Do the hot peppers last, or else chop them into a separate bowl. Before you add them, touch your finger to your lips. Add them based on your reaction to the peppers - more if you're OK with the heat, less if it's too intense. Remember, you can always add heat, but you can't take it out.
Tip: When you cut the tomatoes, watch the amount of juice you let into the bowl. Round tomatoes tend to give off a lot of juice and leave only a little body. You can gut the tomatoes if you want - that will reduce the water -- but make sure you use enough tomatoes to compensate for the loss of volume. I prefer plum tomatoes because they don't have as much juice, but it is a LOT more cutting.
Now, before you do anything else, mix it all up. Look at the colors. Is there too much white? Too much green? Not enough? It should be a vibrant and festive mix, about 40-50% red. Adjust if you need to.
Juice the lemons and limes, and mix that in very well. Add the sugar, cumin, and oregano, and any other spices you might choose. Save the oil/vinegar and the salt for last. Be sure to taste it as you're going to ensure that your spice mixture is good. The salt should brighten and emphasize each of the flavors at this stage, but it shouldn't taste salty. Feel free to adjust your heat with extra peppers or by slipping in some alternate sources of heat. Watch your liquid levels when you're adding the oil and vinegar. They are essential, but this is salsa, not gazpacho.
When you're satisfied with the flavor, mix everything up really well, and then set it aside for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight or longer. Time is the BEST flavoring agent for fresh salsa - the flavors marry in a way that your mouth just can't achieve on its own.
This works really well on chips, on veggies, in omelets, in burritos or fajitas or nachos, on top of lettuce as a salad, or pretty much any way you like to eat salsa.
VARIATION:
Substitute fruit (peaches, mangoes, and finely minced pineapple all work VERY well) for some of the tomatoes. The color balance will shift, so shift your expectations accordingly.
This recipe makes about 8 quarts (64 1-cup servings). Scale as you see fit.
Number of Servings: 64
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JRMURRAY8.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 47.9
- Total Fat: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
- Sodium: 81.1 mg
- Total Carbs: 7.5 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
Member Reviews
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MAGGIESP
How long will these stay fresh in the refrigerator? Thanks! - 7/15/09
Reply from SCIENCE_WRITER (7/15/09)
We've kept this salsa for up to 3-4 weeks without a problem. If you're going to keep it for a while, I recommend dividing it into airtight containers so that you're not opening a lot at once. We've never tried canning it, but it should work, especially if you add just a little bit of citric acid.