raw salsa

[ryansmithxvx]

i tried making homemade salsa for the first time, and it didn't really come out how i wanted.

i checked the memories, but most of what i found isn't just traditional salsa or involves canned stuff from the store, which isn't raw.

can anyone recommend me a good, raw, traditional salsa recipe? (i'm talking pretty thick, not super runny, good chunks

Comments

[velvetdahlia]

well, I do use canned tomatoes in mine, but you can substitute fresh (it will be runnier with fresh).

You can make chipotle by charring jalapenos, but it's easier to find them canned as well-- I use the kind in adobo.

1 tbsp chipotle chilis
2 cups canned or fresh tomatoes or a combo.
a fist full of fresh cilantro/corriander
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 very small red or sweet white onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt to taste
fresh jalapenos if you like it hot
dash of oregano
roasted cumin seeds, ground to powder in a mortar (1 tsp), or already ground stuff.

[ryansmithxvx]

how does this taste without sugar and do unroasted cumin seeds work instead?

[velvetdahlia]

I've tried it with apple cider vinegar instead of sugar and it was tangier, of course, but I was going for this "comfort food hot" chipotle salsa I had in SoCal (now I live in London and the Mexican food here is a kind of horror). I like to round out smoky, acidic flavors with some sweetness but I think it was tasty without the sugar, too!

I have never tried to grind the cumin without toasting it-- I like the toasty flavor and it smells great. You can just use the powder, too, that's what I do when I'm pressed for time or have no seeds on hand.

[velvetdahlia]

oh, and I blend all this in a food processor until it's a liquidy paste. You probably guessed that.

[ryansmithxvx]

do you blend all of it together or some parts first for a longer period?

[velvetdahlia]

I do the hard solids first, and then basically add stuff that is more liquid last. That means onions and garlic first, then cilantro, then tomatoes...and so on, scraping the bowl between blendings.

[cookin_dugan]

yuck. we use a food processer at the deli i work in sometimes. i hate how foamy the tomatoes get and how mushy it makes everything. and we work side by side with a raw food resturant who seem to process everything. do you like it better processed? i just preffer it to but minced and chopped with a knife. can you get canned chipotles in the UK?

[velvetdahlia]

hmmmm...I will try chopping. I'm just a lazy ass! Also, I've never noticed foam or froth-- it's more like a wet paste. That doesn't sound to appetizing, does it? But the texture is good.

Sadly, I haven't found canned chipotles in London. I have found a decent jarred kind, which has improved my life by at least 35%. Though, they are expensive!

[mybike_yourface]

chipotles and charred jalapenos aren't the same thing at all.

[velvetdahlia]

Well, it's impossible to find smoked moritas, the trad chipotle kind, in the UK, which is where I live.

Smoked, dried jalapenos are also used to make some chipotle, like the stuff you find in the UK. My wording was awkward-- I'm saying, I prefer that but if you can find jalapenos and blacken them, it is similar enough.

In my desperation to make good vegan mexican food in London, I have bastardized all that is pure and authetic. But I do my best. ;)

[cookin_dugan]

oh, i feel for you. here in the dirty southwest i can get any chipotle i like. which is just one reason i never want to leave the sonoran for long! is there much mexican food in the UK? i was watching a tv show about tex-mex being huge in paris which surprised me.

[velvetdahlia]

Please...stop...you are making me cry. ;) Maybe that's just the onions I'm blending til frothy...

Seriously, when I first moved to London, I had people send care packages of canned tomatillos and chipotle, etc. from L.A.

Mexican food here is terrible. Like the worst junk food style processed crap (think doritos with velveeta and you're getting warm).

There is one decent place that is through the roof expensive, and things are served in absurdly precious "nouvelle cuisine" portions. There is even an upscale taqueria in Notting Hill called "Crazy Homies" where a plate of three taquitos costs a fiver (ten dollars).

Maybe I need to get to Paris...