You know how, when Mexican restaurants serve corn chips, they give you little bowls of guacamole and salsa for dipping? I always ignore the salsa and head straight for the green stuff. It’s not that I especially like guacamole–although I do!–but instead that the red salsa never much appeals to me. I guess it’s the mixture of being a bit too acidic, sometimes too spicy, and often not fresh that makes me pass it up.
My partner Gene’s sister, Merelyn, recently shared with us her salsa recipe, and it’s nothing like those tiresome concoctions you get at places like Taco Bell. Instead, it’s got a fresh flavor that’s more Tex-Mex, with echoes of barbecues on hot summer days. It’s so good I wanted to share it here–with her permission, of course.
Besides being awesome to eat, it’s also a great way to use up those buckets of tomatoes, green peppers, and onions that ripen in summer gardens. Gene used the full recipe when he made it, but I cut it in half here. With just a little chopping, it’s easy to make! The recipe makes quite a bit, and it freezes well.
Merelyn’s Salsa
Ingredients
- 4.25 C Diced fresh tomatoes
- 1 C Diced onion
- 1 C Diced Green Pepper
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 C diced Jalapenos Optional
- 1/2 C chopped Cilantro
- 1 TBSP Kosher salt
- 1/4 C Sugar or to taste
- 3/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 TBSP Tomato paste
- 1 TSP ground black pepper
- 1 TSP Orgeno
- 1 TSP ground Cumin
Instructions
- Be sure to rinse all fresh ingredients prior to chopping them. Chop into quarter-inch dice.
- Mix all the ingredients together. You can pulse the ingredients in a blender for a smoother salsa, but we prefer chunkier, so we just chop and mix them by hand.
- If you plan to can the salsa, simmer the ingredients in a sauce pan for 20 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerator for four hours or overnight. Freeze any that you don't plan to use in the next 2-3 days.