Does anyone here make their own salsa?

[Shell Beau]

I would like to try to make some.

[Heidi]

1. I do, but only in season.

Tomatoes, pepperoncini, onions, cilantro, garlic, fresh lime and lemon -- only stuff we grow in the garden. You can do this, too! You're in a warm climate! :thumbsup:

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I should think the odds of that are quite high.

[av8rdave]

3. Mine is super simple, but tastes great

1 can regular Ro-Tel (diced tomatoes and chilis - Mexican food section of grocery store)

1 can extra hot Ro-Tel

1 TBS salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 medium onion

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients except cilantro in the blender, and blend on high for about 15 seconds. Add cilantro and blend another 10 seconds or so.

[ipfilter]

4. I did one year when I had bumper crop of tomatoes.

I parboiled the tomatoes to removed the skins. Then squeezed out the seeds and chopped them. I added tomatoes, chopped jalapenos, chopped garlic, chopped onion, and cilantro to apple cider vinegar. Salt to taste.

[Midlodemocrat]

5. Yes. Got the best recipe ever from the Phoenician in Phoenix

If I can locate it, I'll PM you.

I know it has tons of cilantro in it which I love, but others often don't care for.

[Shell Beau]

6. I don't mind cilantro. And salsa needs it IMO.

[ipfilter]

7. I add cilantro and garlic slowly until the taste is just right.

It's easy for them to overpower everything else.

[MrsBrady]

8. easy

i make a mean tomatillo salsa...

you can use tomatillos or regular tomatoes

I like to use Roma if i don't use tomatillos...they have more meat


I don't really measure, just throw stuff in the food processor or blender

5 or 6 roma tomatoes, or 10ish or so tomatillos (sometimes they are small)
1 or 2 jalapeños (however hot you want it)...sometimes we use habanero (be careful)
green onion or white onion
cilantro (NOT parsley ick)
fresh garlic
salt
pepper


NOT for the weak!

sometimes a use an entire bunch of cliantro
play with it till you find the combo that works for you

[Shell Beau]

9. Sounds easy enough!! Thanks!

[ogneopasno]

10. I usually just make pico de gallo, or whatever it's called...

Tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and then lime and/or garlic if you want.

[MajorChode]

11. Buying salsa is crazy because it's ridiculously cheap and easy to make

Rather than just cookbooking it with a recipe, I would suggest you just find a combination of ingredients you like. That's most of the fun about salsa, there are lots of ingredients you can use and it's nice to experiment. Since the ingredients are cheap, mistakes aren't costly other than a few weird looks by your friends and family members.

There's a few basic rules I go by.

If I can't get my hands on a good home grown tomatoes, I prefer to use canned. I usually go with stewed tomatoes, but plain canned tomatoes will work fine.

Salsa MUST have chilies IMO, and lots of them. I like to use both dried and fresh chilies. If you like your salsa mild, you can simply take out the seeds and cut out the pale connecting tissue which is where almost all the heat is. You can also use larger chilies which tend to be milder. With dried chilies I empty out the seeds and cut them into tiny pieces with kitchen shears.

Salsa MUST have onions and garlic, IMO. If you don't like strong onion and garlic flavors you can sweat them in a pan until soft which will change the flavor and make them much milder. As always a little uncooked garlic goes a long way. Scallions are also a great substitute for regular onions or you can use both. I really like to use Vidalias, but naturally those are seasonal in the summer.

Salsa MUST have some type of herb added. Cilantro is traditional, but if you don't like it you can go with regular parsley. It should also have a bit of lime juice and olive oil.

Salsa (and tomatoes in general) need a good bit of salt, so season appropriately.

I like to make my own chips which are ridiculously simple. Just cut some fresh corn tortillas into the shape you like and deep fat fry them in 375 degree oil for a couple of minutes. Don't make your batches too big and throw some salt on them as soon as you pull them from the hot oil.

Optional ingredients are unlimited and can include black beans, tomatillos, pineapple, corn, or whatever else you can dream up. I like to use pineapple in really hot salsa to get the sweet/sour/hot thing going.