With lots of Big Beef tomatoes in the garden now, we have sliced and layered them on toasted homemade country sourdough bread. I’ve made Green Beans with Olive Oil & Tomatoes, fresh pasta sauce and big, big bowls of salsa fresca. Fresh salsa is nothing like the bottled salsa you find on the grocery store shelves which many times seem too “tomato pasty.” Since fresh salsa is best consumed within a day or two, we have eaten many meals that highlight the salsa; tacos, quesadillas, tostadas and tamales. A simple Sunday breakfast of scrambled eggs with a bit of extra sharp cheddar and topped with a good serving of salsa fresca is the perfect way to start your day.
I don’t follow a specific recipe because there are just 6 ingredients. You can add as much cilantro, onion and jalapeño as you like. The best suggestion I can offer is to use good juicy tomatoes (plum tomatoes seem too dry) and taste your jalapeños to see how hot they are since their heat varies considerably especially if using fresh jalapeños. I prefer to used nacho jalapeño rings that John grows and cans each year. They are hot (!) and I can judge just how much I will need for each salsa recipe. You can buy jarred jalapeños at the grocery store or canned, chopped jalapeños such as Ortega. These will work fine.
These containers of salsa were sold to co-workers. I will donate the monies collected to the 2013 Visitor Industry Charity Walk which is an annual event that helps hundreds of local charities throughout the state.
Salsa Fresca
Fresh tomatoes, cut into small dice with seeds removed
Maui onion or sweet onion finely diced
Chopped cilantro
Minced jalapeño
Fresh lime juice
Salt
This is so easy since there’s no specific measurements for each ingredient. Once you chop the tomatoes you decide how much of the other ingredients to add to suit your taste. Some of you may not care for cilantro so you might choose to leave it out, but I highly recommend you give it a try. It adds a bright color and fresh flavor to the salsa.
It is best to eat the salsa the day you make it. If you have leftovers use it within two days.