Homemade salsa

1 Quart

Ingredients

QuantityIngredient
Stephen Ceideburg
4poundsRipe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2cupsChopped red onions
4Green onions, minced
1tablespoonGarlic, minced
½cupApple cider vinegar
6To 8 jalapeno chiles, cored, seeded, minced
4To 6 serrano chiles, minced
1tablespoonTo 2 tb New Mexican red chile powder
½teaspoonCrushed cumin
teaspoonCrushed dried oregano
1teaspoonTo 2 ts salt
1cupCrushed Pomi tomatoes (see note)
½cupMinced cilantro

Directions

When I was working on this recipe many years ago, I bought about 20 bottled salsas, from mild to fiery, to try in the name of research. I tasted them all. The one trait most of them shared was salt in great amounts. By making your own salsa, you can season it to suit your taste. Also, it's fun to vary the recipe by adding a variety of chiles and spices.

Combine the fresh tomatoes, red and green onions, the garlic and vinegar in a 5-quart saute pan; simmer for 10 minutes to reduce some of the tomato liquid. Add the chiles, chile powder, cumin, oregano, salt and crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.

Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator or freeze in 1-cup batches.

Makes about 1 quart.

Note: Crushed Pomi tomatoes, sold in vacuum-packed boxes, help pull the salsa together and thicken the juices.

PER TABLESPOON: 10 calories, 0 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 38 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.

Jacquiline Higuera McMahan in the San Francisco Chronicle, 9/3/03.

Posted by Stephen Ceideburg