How To Make Salsa With Whatever Ingredients You Have

I grew up eating the best salsa in the world — my mom's recipe. While I admit that I'm completely biased, I will mention that her entry beat out dozens of others in the salsa contest at the San Diego County Fair in 1990, so it wasn't just the family who thought her salsa was superior. Her recipe starts out with the basics — tomatoes, onions, and chiles.

It also includes garlic, fire-roasted green chilies, both lime and lemon juices, and lots of . Most of these ingredients are pretty common in the salsa realm, but there is a world of options when tweaking a basic recipe. My mother uses Roma tomatoes, quite a lot of finely chopped white onion, and jalapeños.



To change the flavor, use other kinds of tomatoes. Heirloom varieties can sweeten up the condiment, while tomatillos will make it tangy and green. Red and Spanish onions will be less sweet than white onion, giving the salsa a bit of non-spicy heat.

When it comes to the fiery element, jalapeños lend a medium amount of spice, but if you like things hot, consider a little bit of habanero or Scotch bonnet instead. On the other end of the spectrum, try some poblanos or Anaheim chiles for a more mild vibe. If you want a charred or smoky flavor, you can grill your peppers and onions, or blister your tomatoes.

If you don't have or don't like cilantro, simply omit it. The fresh, raw garlic adds a delicious depth of flavor, but if you like more sweetness, use roasted garlic instead. At its core, salsa simply means "sauce" in Spanish, which leaves the door open for interpretation.

More ways to make salsa , you can incorporate a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, spices, grains, and nuts. For a fruitier salsa, a squeeze of orange or grapefruit juice instead of lemon or lime works wonders. Adding strawberries, watermelon, stone fruit, mangoes, or pomegranate arils to salsa is delicious, and works when combined with the basic tomato-onion-chile trio.

Of course, using fruit can sometimes mean a salsa can develop too much liquid, so here's . You can even make a dessert salsa by combining several kinds of chopped fruit, lime juice and zest, and honey, and serve it with cinnamon-sugar flour tortilla "chips." Salsa doesn't even need to contain solely fresh ingredients to be delicious.

If you can't find good tomatoes, use canned tomatoes, which are typically processed when they are ripe. Tinned sweet corn and black beans can add great texture, and even the chiles can be canned, like the roasted peppers my mom uses. For smokiness, use canned chipotle chiles or many types of dried chiles — you just need to rehydrate the dried peppers first.

People also have different preferences on texture. When you prepare salsa ingredients by hand using a knife, it will be thick and chunky, which is great for scooping up with chips. On the other hand, pureeing your ingredients in a blender or food processor saves time, and your salsa will have a thinner consistency.

A molcajete is a tool you can use to get a texture that's right in the middle. There's hardly ever a wrong way to make this beloved condiment, so play around with your ingredients and techniques, and keep the tortilla chips handy! Recommended.