Making Fresh Salsa

People tell me that I have amazing fresh salsa.  I have friends that pay me to make it for them.  In fact, one of my friends has even said that I’ve spoiled her for real fresh salsa so that anything else just doesn’t measure up.  Naturally, I just shrug, because after all, it’s just a few simple ingredients all chopped together, no fancy seasonings, no cooking, no preservatives. The most processed thing in my salsa is the minced garlic I buy in small jars.  Everything else is fresh produce and salt.

Wanna know the secret?  There is none.  Fresh produce, a bit of salt to taste and minced garlic.  Thats it.  So, what are the various items of produce, you ask?  Well, I’ll tell ya.  It’s a simple ratio of about 3 medium Roma Tomatos to 1 medium Jalapeno pepper and about a third of a yellow onion.  Add to that a tablespoon of the garlic and a quarter teaspoon of salt and 1-2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice.  Add several sprigs of Cilantro.  So to get a 1-2 quart tupperware container of salsa you’ll need 15-16 medium Romas, 6-10 medium Jalapenos and one medium yellow onion.  Add to that a couple tablespoons of minced garlic, a teaspoon or two of salt and lemon or lime juice to taste.  Also, you’ll need about a quarter of a bunch of Cilantro.

Basically, I start by chopping the onion, jalapeno, cilantro together along with the salt, lemon/lime juice and garlic.  Then, when this is all finely chopped, I start adding the tomatoes 1-2 at a time.  You might also need to split the chopped mix into 2-3 batches and divide the tomatoes accordingly.  The idea is to get the harder veggies ground down a bit so you get a fair distribution of the mix amid the tomatoes.  Also, you want the tomatoes to be fairly chunky, so you add those to the chopper last.

Lastly, a word about the “heat” of the salsa.  If you like it mouth scorching hot, simply cut up the jalapenos and chop them.  If you like it medium spicy, then you’ll want to remove half the white meat and seeds inside the peppers before you chop them up.  If you want it really mild, remove as much of the white meat and seeds as possible.

Enjoy!!