Simple tomato, tomatillo and fruit salsa recipes are quick to prepare from garden fresh summer ingredients. Salsas include onions, cilantro, parsley, and basil.
Americans now consume more salsa annually than they do ketchup, according to information from the National Garden Bureau. There are advantages to making simple homemade tomato-based salsas.
- They are quick and a great way to use garden-fresh ingredients.
- Varying amounts of basic ingredients like tomatoes, onions, cilantro, parsley and basil add color and distinctive personal flavors.
- Garlic and assorted hot chile peppers contribute extra punch.
- Options such as tomatillos and fresh fruits enhance traditional salsa taste and extend usability.
- Tomatoes such as the 'Margherita' hybrid are thin-skinned with meaty flesh. They are delicious fresh but terrific when roasted. Easy to grow from seeds, 'Margherita' hybrid plants are available for home gardeners.
- Cilantro, especially strains like 'Slo-bolt,' stay at the juvenile leaf stage better than most others. Their bright green leaves impart a typical Mexican taste that many cooks desire.
- Curly parsley types are usually vigorous growers that taste sweet and nutty, and bring lustrous dark green flecks to salsa.
- Chopping both green and purple basil varieties adds a festive colorful look to fresh dishes.
- Sweet Bell peppers like gold 'Admiral,' red 'Vidi,' and orange 'Valencia Orange' along with an assortment of Chiles with different heat levels, lbrighten salsa with a wide range of flavors and southwest colors. Good hile choices are mild aromatic Ancho 'San Luis,' medium-heat Santa Fe-style 'Joe Parker,' and spicy Jalapeno 'Sierra Fuego.'
- Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes wrapped in tissue paper. Purple-skinned tomatillos with small, sweet and tangy fruits, and green-skinned Mexican 'Toma Verde' with crispy big fruits, are two kinds increasingly available for home gardeners.
Simple Salsa Recipes
10 Minute Salsa
(Courtesy: National Garden Bureau)
- 4 freshly diced large plum tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
- 1-2 tsp. minced jalapeno with seeds removed
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2-tsp salt
- 1 minced garlic clove
Combine ingredients in glass bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
Yield: About 1 to 11/2 cups
Cantaloupe Salsa
(Courtesy: Renee's Garden)
Spicy herbs and jalapeno with cantaloupe melon equals a fresh Caribbean-style salsa.
- 1 jalapeno chile, with seeds removed
- 1 shallot
- 1 scallion, sliced in four pieces
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 cantaloupe, with seeds removed, peeled, and cut into pieces
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the cantaloupe and salt.
- Process until finely chopped.
- Add cantaloupe and process until cantaloupe is coarsely chopped (do not puree).
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
(Courtesy: Renee's Garden)
This green salsa makes an excellent dip or a topping for grilled chicken or fish.
- 1 pound tomatillos (about 8, each 2 in. wide)
- 1 fresh serrano chili (1/4 oz.)
- 1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 or 2 green onions, rinsed, ends trimmed, and chopped
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- Salt and pepper
- Remove and discard husks from tomatillos; rinse tomatillos.
- Rinse chili; remove and discard stem.
- Place tomatillos and chili in a 9-inch square baking pan and broil 4 inches from heat, turning as needed, until browned well on all sides. Broil 12 to 15 minutes total for tomatillos and 6 to 8 minutes for chili. Remove vegetables as done.
- In a food processor or blender, whirl tomatillos, chili, garlic, green onions, and lime juice, pulsing just until mixture is coarsely chopped; do not overprocess.
- Stir in cilantro, then salt and pepper to taste.Yield: Makes about 1 1/4 cups
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Copyright Georgene A. Bramlage. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Georgene A. Bramlage - Suite 101 Landscaping Feature Writer and Topic Editor Free-lance Garden and Landscape Writer and Consultant
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