The Rusted Vegetable Garden

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

KNOL: A Basic Salsa Recipe (In Pictures)

This entry is a copy from a KNOL I wrote found at Google. Google will be discontinuing the KNOL's platform and I am in the process of storing them on my blog. Please enjoy the article. I have about 50 coming over to this blog.

Salsa is not a science. No matter how you chop it - salsa is a basic sauce. This recipe will give you a base salsa you can adapt over time. This recipe won't give you exact measurements for the ingredients. That's just to much work. Chop what you like and get it into a bowl.

A Basic Salsa Recipe (In Pictures)

by Gary Pilarchik LCSW-C

My Vegetable Gardening Blog: The Rusted Garden

A Basic Salsa Recipe

The fresher the ingredients the better. I recommend growing your own salsa garden. If you have a fairly green thumb or more importantly some basic gardening interest, you can grow a salsa garden.

If you start a garden you will be able to mix and match store bought vegetables and home grown vegetables as they become available. Where ever your ingredients come from, this Knol will give you a salsa recipe to enjoy as is or to use as a base for developing your own wonderful salsas. The key to any salsa is cilantro. If you want the classic salsa taste you will need to use cilantro. Don't like cilantro? No problem - substitute an herb you enjoy. Salsa is packed full of vitamins and it is low low low in calories. Eat all you want but mind the chips!

Basic Building Blocks for Salsa

Salsa Ingredients

Cilantro
Roma Tomatoes
Lime Basil (substitute with lime juice or lemon juice)
Vidalia Onion
Green Pepper
Jalapeno Peppers
Garlic Cloves (not pictured)
Salt and Pepper

Since it is May the only thing from my garden at this time is the cilantro and lime basil. The rest was purchased at the grocery store. One thing to keep in mind is a meaty tomato. You can use any tomato but I find a Roma type or Paste tomato works best. They are more fleshy and the meaty and that part of the tomato builds a nice salsa.

Chop the Vegetables and Herbs

Chop up your ingredients and put them in a medium sized bowl. I figured pictures are worth a thousand words, so here you go.

Salsa: Click to Enlarge

I used 5 Roma tomatoes for this recipe. You can use more or less based on your taste. This recipe will give you a basic salsa to eat and enjoy or use as a base to create different salsas year round. Experiment and tweak away.

Salsa: Click to enlarge

I used all the cilantro pictured and I chopped the lime basil in the same fashion.You can use more or less cilantro based, again, on your taste. I don't expect everyone to have access to lime basil. You might not even like lime basil. Omit it. If you like lemon and lime add 2 tablespoons of either juice to this salsa or maybe one of each. Some people use red or white vinegars. I prefer to use lime juice. Again, your taste is key.

Salsa: Click to Enlarge

I used 1/2 of the green pepper for this recipe. Chopped as seen. It is easier to cut the pepper into strips before cutting them down to size.

Salsa: Click to Enlarge

I used all three jalapenos. I enjoy some heat. You can substitute the jalapenos with the other half of the green pepper. You can also use orange and red peppers to add color. The best way to prepare a jalapeno is to cut it in half. You will notice the seeds and white pith in one of the halves. The pith and seeds are typically the hottest part of peppers. You should remove the seeds and white pith under cold water. I don't put them in my salsa but I suppose you could.

Salsa: Click to Enlarge

I used 1/2 of the vidalia onion. Again, you can use more or less based on the flavor you want to achieve. A red onion can certainly be substituted and it would add color to your salsa.

I finished the salsa off with two cloves of a garlic crushed through a garlic press. I added salt and pepper to taste and I added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you are not familiar with a garlic press it is pictured with the finished recipe below.

The Finished Salsa

A basic salsa

Here you have... a basic salsa. This base recipe can be used to build you own unique salsas. I use coarse sea salt. The salt will pull the juices out of your vegetables and herbs. Salsa is best served about an hour after you make it. The salt will draw flavors out and you will notice more juices in your salsa. After about an hour, mixed it up thoroughly and enjoy. Try baked chips. They are a lot healthier and because of that you can eat more salsa!

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