What do I do with all this salsa?

August 7, 2010 7:08 AM

My friend (who's known as the Magic Salsa Fairy) converted a bunch of my homegrown tomatoes into a prodigious quantity of excellent hot salsa. There's more than a quart of it. I've got the whole tortilla chips/nachos/quesadillas axis covered, but what else can I do with it? You can assume that I'm a skillful indoor cook and my husband has a good gas grill and knows how to use it. Bonus points for healthy meal ideas. We are omnivores, but try to limit the carbs (b/c my husband is Type II diabetic).
posted by DrGail to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

Once salsa is near the end of its life expectancy, I find that a couple of scoops works well to turn plain old scrambled eggs into huevos rancheros, especially if you let the eggs go more in the frittata direction. A little olive oil in the pan, let it heat up not quite to browning temperature, pour in the scrambled eggs, let them go near to brown, two tablespoons of warmed or room temperature salsa on top, then fold the eggs in half, let cook for another little while, then eat. Fat-free sour cream on top does nice things.

Also, it's a nice addition to a simple bowl of rice.

And when all else fails, it's an excellent marinade.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:15 AM on August 7, 2010

This recipe is super easy and super tasty. I think the Taco Bell salsa they call for is nasty, so I substitute all kinds of yummy salsa. I also tend to pile on more than the recipe calls for. The chicken turns out really moist and something about the salsa (the acids I think) makes it really tender.

It's a huge hit at my house. Everybody loves it.
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:19 AM on August 7, 2010

It's a sauce --- so treat it like a sauce!

Pour salsa liberally over any plainly cooked protein (and many cooked or raw vegetables) to jazz up a meal. Spoon some onto a plate and put a slab or broiled or grilled fish on top. Pour it over scrambled eggs, poached eggs, or eggs cooked any way at all. Put some salsa in a burger (with a bun, or just spoon some atop a cooked burger patty).

You can also use it as an ingredient, the way you might use canned tomato sauce or paste. Plunk some cooked or canned beans into a pot with a good glug of salsa and some cooking liquid (red or white wine, sherry, tomato juice, water) and let them cook down a little. Mmm. [self-link: I make black beans with eggs for dinner or brunch.]

Toss cubed warm sweet potatoes with a spoonful, or hollow out a baked sweet potato, smash the insides with salsa, refill the potato shell, sprinkle with cheese and bake it. Pan-sear summer squash or zucchini in oil, toss with a bit of salsa, and serve. Or...

... you get the idea.
posted by Elsa at 7:39 AM on August 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

I make pizza substituting the salsa for the pizza sauce. Simple but effective. I also love scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon and salsa in a wrap. Sometimes I add guacamole to that too if I have some.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:46 AM on August 7, 2010

Since there is so much of it, you can treat it as they do in Colombia--heat it gently and then puree it fine in the blender. Use it warm as a sauce for meat or fish tacos. This type of salsa has a quite different taste from raw salsa, but is no less fantastic. (In fact, I much prefer lightly cooked salsa.)
posted by OmieWise at 8:09 AM on August 7, 2010

Seconding the "pour it over cooked meat" suggestion. One of my favorite Mexican restaurants (a Yucatecan restaurant, to be precise) serves what is essentially a mixed grill platter (grilled steak, sausages, scallions, etc.) in a salsa bath. It's one of the awesomest uses for good salsa I have tasted.
posted by willbaude at 8:15 AM on August 7, 2010

I dump it over chicken and roast the chicken (20 minutes per pound or so at 325*), keeps it nice and moist, very tasty.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:16 AM on August 7, 2010

Put a few cups in a crock pot with a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder, chile powder, and oregano. Add several pounds of raw chicken or pork, and cook on low for about 4 hours. Shred the meat, and you now have an awesome burrito filling.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 8:31 AM on August 7, 2010

Chilaquiles are freaking delicious and your salsa, blended, would be perfect for them. However, they are neither healthy nor low-carb. I recommend making them with tortillas that you fry yourself, rather than tortilla chips, and I suppose if you use corn tortillas or whole wheat ones they would be slightly better for you.
posted by LeeLanded at 8:46 AM on August 7, 2010

Use it as a marinade for making fajitas, as well as for the sauce. The acid of the tomatoes will break down the toughness of the skirt steak.
posted by pickypicky at 8:54 AM on August 7, 2010

Bake fish in the oven with salsa on top.
posted by hellogoodbye at 9:41 AM on August 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

This Spanish Rice recipe only uses .25 cu of salsa but is worth your time. It also uses diced tomatoes so you can use up more tomatoes that way.
posted by chairface at 9:48 AM on August 7, 2010

I like using salsa as a starting point for black bean soup. Heat some oil in a pan and add a scoop of salsa (plus some onion, garlic, and/or chiles if you think there's not enough in the salsa). Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes over medium high heat - you want the salsa to really cook down and intensify. Add a splash of rum and a squirt of ketchup or tomato paste (my secret ingredients!) and cook another minute, then add some canned black beans. Cook at least 5-10 minutes, or longer if you like the beans creamier.
posted by rossination at 11:37 AM on August 7, 2010

make soft polenta with poached eggs for brekkie and put the salsa on it
make some pan fried tilapia and put the salsa on it
posted by supermedusa at 11:46 AM on August 7, 2010

For the past few days I've been eating cooked greens (mostly kale) with a hard-boiled egg sliced on top and a generous pour of salsa over the top for breakfast. Delicious and healthy.
posted by iona at 2:02 PM on August 7, 2010

I recently learned that quinoa is a good choice for people with diabetes because even though it's like a grain, it's full of protein, not carbohydrates. You could make a quinoa salad (like this one) and substitute the salsa for the fresh tomatoes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:19 PM on August 7, 2010

To follow up on the sauce note, salsa makes a great pan sauce. After you've cooked any meat or anything else that leaves a tasty residue in the skillet, while it's piping hot throw in the salsa and some compatible broth (or alcohol, I hear, but the only alcohol I cook with is mirin so I have no idea bout this and if it sets things on fire it's not my fault). Cook it down to the desired consistency and serve on top of the meat. This is more interesting than serving it as is, especially if you've had it a lot.

I also use half-empty jars of salsa instead of tomatoes and spices when I make chili sometimes (I tend to make bean-oriented chili, so if you're one of those "chili=meat paste with spices" people and you want to call what I make spicy bean stew instead, knock yourself out--but it's called chili at my house). Sauteed onions, cumin, more garlic if you like (roasted or sauteed with the onions if you like), protein of choices, beans of choice (canned if you're busy). Maybe up the protein if the beans are too high-carb for Mr. DrGail...
posted by wintersweet at 5:20 PM on August 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

I make regular ordinary bean chili, like this one, and replace the tomato sauce with the salsa. It is great. You can also leave out the meat and triple the beans (or any ratio that takes your fancy).
posted by fifilaru at 5:27 PM on August 7, 2010

Breakfast tacos! Take whatever you eat for breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, etc.), toss it into a warmed flour tortilla (there are low carb options) and put some of the yummy salsa on top. NOM NOM NOM!
posted by deborah at 7:34 PM on August 7, 2010

Million Dollar Chicken
I make a bunch of beef, bean, and cheese burritos, then freeze them. Chicken works well also. I always thin the refried beans with salsa. They freeze and reheat well. Nuking is fine; heating/toasting in a dry pan, even better.
posted by JABof72 at 9:29 AM on August 8, 2010

I love a grilled chicken breast. You could try marinating some boneless skinless breasts in the salsa and then grill them up. Another thought might be to marinate the breasts in some lime juice and tequila, then grill them, shred 'em, and eat with the salsa in corn tortillas - tasty, but might be a little more carbs than you'd like.
posted by nickmark at 6:41 AM on August 9, 2010