Comments on: Salsa. Lets make it.

Question: Salsa. Lets make it.

buriednexttoyou — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:24:44 -0800

Salsa. What is the hands-down best salsa recipe ever?

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:28:17 -0800

Here's a MeFi post with lots and lots of recipes.

By: buriednexttoyou

buriednexttoyou — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:32:35 -0800

...but which one is the best?

By: HeyAllie

HeyAllie — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:36:16 -0800

Slap Yo' Mama Good Lime Salsa

Ingredients:
4 roma tomatoes
1 med. white onion
2 or 3 pinches of cilantro
1 basil leaf
4 cloves of garlic
4 jalepeno peppers
1/4 of a habenero pepper
1 tsp of salt
Juice of one lime

If you like chunky salsa, hand chop all ingredients and mix, store in plastic container and refrigerate overnight. Otherwise you can use a food processor. Best served with Touch of Lime Tostitoes. You can add another jalepeno instead of the habenero. This was taste-tested by an Ecuadorian, a Peruvian and a Panamanian and they all raved about it, so you know it's gotta be Slap Yo' Mama Good. Cuatro estrellas!

By: rhizome

rhizome — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:36:29 -0800

It depends on who you ask. What's the best movie ever?

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:40:35 -0800

I agree with rhizome. There is no such thing. There are many different types of salsas too. The best salsa recipe is the one you like the best. Unless, of course, you let other people dictate your taste.

By: buriednexttoyou

buriednexttoyou — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:45:02 -0800

Ok folks, I will make this a little clearer: Pick one favorite salsa recipe to share.

By: mostlymartha

mostlymartha — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:47:31 -0800

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Roast about 8 roma tomatoes and 2 serrano chiles under the broiler, turning, until they are charred all over and soft. Once they're cool enough to handle, scoop out the seeds and roughly chop all the tomatoes.

Puree 1/2 of the tomatoes until more or less smooth. Chop the other 1/2 by hand until they are a rough and smooshy small dice. Place the diced tomatoes in a mesh sieve and drain, tossing from time to time to help remove the liquid.

Mince 1 small red onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 2 good handfuls of cilantro, and the serranos. Stir together with the tomato puree and drained diced tomatoes. Season with salt, a generous amount of lime, and a pinch of sugar if necessary. For more smokey taste, substitute chipotles for the serranos.

The half chopped, half pureed tomatoes give this salsa a great texture that's neither too chunky nor too soupy. Since roasting makes the tomatoes more flavorful, the recipe works well even when there aren't perfect summer tomatoes (frankly, beautiful heirlooms are better unroasted, although I still do the half diced, half pureed technique.)

By: Ufez Jones

Ufez Jones — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:59:38 -0800

An insanely simple recipe I pinched off an ex, who happened to be Central American, as posted to Flickr. Even though all my friends here in TX eat at (very good) Mexican restaurants all the time, they rave about my version. As always, it'll only be as good as your ingredients, but it can be made in under five minutes. It does taste better (and spicier) after a night in the fridge, though.

By: casarkos

casarkos — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:02:38 -0800

This is not quite the salsa I like best, but it's the one I make best.

4 plum tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1/2 white onion
1 slightly less than ripe Hass avocado or 1/2 slightly less than ripe Florida avocado
LOTS OF CILANTRO

Chop these into pieces no greater than 1 cm in any dimension, adjusting proportions as you like. Mix well. Drain well.

Add:
juice from 1 lime
1/2 shot tequila (plata if you can get it, but Sr. Cuervo is fine)
1/2 tsp salt

Mix well, drain well, and drain again just before serving. For hot salsa I add a couple minced chiles and some red pepper flakes.
It should be self-evident what to do with the other half-shot of tequila.

By: kryptondog

kryptondog — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:27:13 -0800

One of my absolute favorite foods in the world is a chilled, diced mixture of 5 Roma tomatoes, 1 jalepeno, half a small white onion, and a few sprigs of cilantro dressed with the juice of 2 limes, kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. Nothing fancy, but delicious.

For something a bit more unique, try this:

1 cubed mango
2 peeled and diced cucumbers
About a cup of fresh (not canned) diced pineapples
A splash of the fresh pineapple juice
2 Jalepenos
1 Lime
Cilantro, salt, and pepper to taste

Mix to combine, chill, and eat. I've had quasi-religious experiences while enjoying this salsa with grilled tuna steak.

By: These Premises Are Alarmed

These Premises Are Alarmed — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:39:15 -0800

Sunday I blanched 8 tomatoes, skinned them and mashed them in the molcajete, added them to the juice of two limes, 3 crushed dried chipotles, 2 fresh chopped jalepenos, six cloves of garlic, one red onion, one bunch of cilantro, and some salt.

By: um_maverick

um_maverick — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:08:14 -0800

I went through (check that, am currently in) a salsa-making phase...but I recently discovered La Mexicana salsa at my local grocery store. It's in the produce aisle on ice, and it's *amazing*. Almost good enough to get me to stop making it at home (although my wife makes sure we always have a supply...apparently I'm a messy cook). Not sure of it's outside-of-Boston availability, but it's highly recommended. Fresh, with just the right amount of kick for each level

By: JulianDay

JulianDay — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:15:46 -0800

Great tomatoes = great salsa. The few times I've made salsa with fantastic late summer tomatoes it was heaven on a chip, but that's of course because the tomatoes were heavenly.

One thing I like to do when making salsa w/ raw onions is to soak the chopped onions in cold water for 10-15 minutes then give them a final rinse in cold water to reduce their bite.

Also if you like hot sauce I love the Parrot brand, it's fairly hot, but more importantly it has a great habanero + acidic/vinegar flavor I like in my salsa.

By: stp123

stp123 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:17:13 -0800

I tried many recipes with all kinds of unnecessary ingredients before I settled on this one. It is about as simple as it gets:

5 roma tomatoes diced
1/2 red onion diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 jalepeno de-seeded, finely minced
2 tbsp cilantro chopped
juice of 1/2 lime

I sometimes add a splash of Corona to it -- "a touch of Mexico" as I like to explain to my wife -- but really it is just an excuse to crack a beer.

By: unSane

unSane — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:28:28 -0800

JulianDay has it. It's all about the tomatoes and (to a lesser extent) the seasoning in terms of garlic, chili, cilantro, salt (sea salt please!), pepper and citrus. Usually, more is better. But the tomatoes rule. If you can find field-ripened tomatoes you're in heaven.

By: jackbrown

jackbrown — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:16:04 -0800

stp123's got it, the perfect basic salsa. It's pretty much the recipe I use, what Mexicans call Pico de Gallo. My version of pico de gallo has a much higher ratio of onion to tomato-mine works out to about 3 tomatoes per onion...and I leave the seeds in the jalapeno. Of course all of these other recipes sound interesting, and I think I will try a few of 'em....but this is the one you'll always come back to. After I add the lime, I let it and cure for a while before I eat it.

By: chr1sb0y

chr1sb0y — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:20:10 -0800

My uncle wrote this book of salsa recipes. It includes this Green Grape Salsa recipe, which we have enjoyed on numerous occasions. Sounds crazy, but it's really great.