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

[heathergalaxy]

all you really need is some sort of diced fruit/vegetable, some cilantro, some lime juice, some finely diced onions, and some jalapenos/habeneros and off you go.

ideas:
mangos
tomatoes (take out the watery/pulpy seed part with a spoon before you do anything)
nopales
sweet potatoes
pineapple
jicama
tomatillos
peaches
corn

seriously so easy

[petienka]

A big yes to the lime juice. For me, that's a really key ingriedient....

[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.

[solitaryfairy]

I have always made my salsa from scratch. (Im super picky about my tomatoes)

Anywho, i don't really follow a recipe per se, just sorta eyeball stuff. Dice up some toms, vidalia onion (cause they are sweeter than the others) Jalapeno (or a few - DONT rub your eyes though!),Garlic (super finely minced), cilantro or parsley, a splash of oil (either olive or veg oil, something light though) and a splash of white vinegar (this makes all the difference in the world) You have to be patient and let it marinate though, so the vinegar will break down some of the veggies. If you want a little more heat, add some hot sauce or red pepper flakes to the mix.

You can mix this up any way you want. I've used tomatillos here instead for Tomatillo salsa (super yum) or fire roasted toms, or hell, anything really. :) You could add peppers (red or green bell) if you like, but i like mine pretty simple.

[ryansmithxvx]

i'm guessing this wouldn't work with apple cider vinegar, correct? white vinegar isn't raw, and i'm not sure how well apple cider vinegar would work on this

[solitaryfairy]

I don't know. I suppose you could take a piece of tomato and see how it would taste with Apple cider vin.

Can't hurt, right? :) Good luck!

[ryansmithxvx]

hey another question--i don't really want just chopped veggies, but there to actually be some liquidy part, as well. do you process/blend yours at all?

[garbagedog]

Another way to keep it from being runny is to dice up your tomatoes, then sprinkle them with the salt and let them sit in a colander or cheesecloth for awhile. A lot of the unwanted runniness will drip out.

[missruckus]

you can also use less watery roma tomatoes.

[snowhitemexican]

I second this. In my opinion romas are key to good salsa.