Homemade Salsa

There are quite a few things that Americans tend to buy pre-made at the grocery store that are not only full of preservatives and other unsavory ingredients, they also pale in contrast to the real thing.  It's a shame because some of these items are so simple to make that once you start, you'll never go back.  Salsa is one of these items. 

You're going to make some Mexican food, or you have a party and you want to set out some chips and salsa, what do you buy? Old El Paso, Pace, Newman's Own?  Well, Paul had it right, make your own.  He did and then started selling it, but that doesn't mean we have to buy it. The thing about salsa is that at almost any given moment you probably have the ingredients already in-house, you just need to whip out the food processor or blender and mix them up.

Salsa can be as simple or complex as you want to make it.  Tomatoes, chilies, garlic, onions, cilantro and some sort of acidic ingredient like lime juice or vinegar will make a lovely salsa. If you want to build on that and add more depth, then you can add some cumin and/or chili powder.  To really get something interesting happening you can start charring peppers.  In the winter I use canned tomatoes, but once tomato season is upon us, fresh homegrown tomatoes will just make it that much better. 

This is a recipe for a salsa with decent heat.  Super heat lovers may want to add a few more chilies, those sensitive to heat, may want to go with one or two chilies, no seeds.  Isn't that the beauty of making your own, you make it how You want it.  Give it a try, I bet you won't go back.

Homemade Salsa

2 jalapeno peppers, charred, then skinned and chopped with seeds
1 14 ounce can of tomatoes (I use diced, but it really doesn't matter)
1/4 - 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 additional chili peppers jalapeno or serrano, seed and chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime

Char the two jalapenos in the broiler.  Let set until cool enough to handle. Peel off skin and then chop roughly keeping the seeds.  Put the chopped peppers in a food processor or blender along with all the remaining ingredients.  Pulse until blended. Done.