Salsa #3 – Simply Spicy

My quest to create the perfect salsa continues!

For this version, I tried to go as simple and fresh as possible. Having just returned home from a trip to Trader Joes, I unpacked bags laden with the following ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 limes (juice)
• ½ white onion chopped fine
• ½ red onion chopped fine
• 1 green jalapeno seeded and chopped fine
• 1 red jalapeno seeded and chopped fine
• ¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• pinch of salt and pepper

I began by pureeing the tomatoes, garlic, ¼ cup white onions, ¼ cup red onions, lime juice and ⅓ of each pepper in a food processor. this process yielded a mixture with  a little more thickness than a normal tomato sauce. It took a few pulses for all of the ingredients to break down as much as I was looking for.

I’ve found that pureeing part of the measures of onion and jalapeno into the tomato mixture is a great way to distribute the flavors evenly, and still incorporate some nice texture with the reserved (finely chopped) portion.

Fold those remaining ingredients into the mixture.

I’ve also discovered that patience – or, better, forethought – is a good attribute to have while making salsa, as the result of this recipe was good the day I made it, but even better a day or two later after the flavors had been allowed to diffuse into the mixture as it sat in the fridge.

…and the adventure continues!