Salty, spicy foods are my chronic craving. So naturally, salsa is one of my favorite things to eat. There are few things I love more than salsa, and even fewer things I love more than salsa that I made, and even fewer things still that I love more than salsa I made with my own homegrown ingredients. But I do have to give credit where credit is due and say that I have had some pretty amazing salsas that I did not make, and I’ve used some pretty awesome ingredients that I did not grow. Still, I like to think that I can at least keep up in the salsa game.
Right now is the perfect time to make salsa, as the tomato and pepper harvest is plentiful. To my great surprise, I was able to grow quite a few decent tomatoes and jalapenos this year, so I have plenty to support my salsa habit. If you don’t, you can always buy fresh from a farmer’s market or grocery store, or use canned. Anything works!
If you’re feeling a little adventurous, as I was a few weeks ago, try my new discovery. Have you ever heard of ground cherries? I hadn’t until I got some in my CSA box a few weeks ago. I had no idea what they were (obviously — see my previous CSA issues), so I asked a coworker. She had just finished researching the answer to my question, and they’re kind of a citrus-y cross between cherry tomatoes and tomatillos because they have the same paper husks.
“People make jams with them,” my coworker told me with a shrug.
Well, I’m not super into jam. But I am into salsa, as you know. So I thought I could switch things up and go for a twist on salsa that’s slightly more sweet than salty or spicy.
If you’re not interested in semisweet salsa, I’ve got you covered with a salsa verde. And if you don’t want green salsa, the pico de gallo is for you!
Ground Cherry Salsa
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Cook time:
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Serves: 2 cups
- ½ medium red onion, quartered
- 1 jalapeno, sliced (or 2, depending on how much heat you like)
- 1 small tomato, quartered
- 1 cup ground cherries, papery husks removed
- ½ lime’s juice
- Cilantro, to taste, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- Add the red onion and jalapeno to a food processor. Pulse a few times to get your desired piece size — I prefer very small bits, but nowhere close to pureed.
- Add the tomato. Pulse again until it’s all mixed well.
- Add ground cherries, lime juice and cilantro, and pulse a few more times until all of the ground cherries have been cut up and mixed in.
- Salt and stir.
- Let sit for half an hour.
- Stir again and serve.
Salsa Verde
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Serves: 3-4 cups
- 6 tomatillos, husks removed
- 1 large white onion, quartered and sort of separated
- 2 jalapenos, sliced lengthwise (ribs and seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lime’s juice
- Cilantro, finely chopped, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Place tomatillos, onion, jalapeno and garlic on a baking sheet with a decent lip on it.
- Drizzle the olive oil over all of it, making sure all ingredients to be roasted have been lightly coated. Use your hands to spread the love if necessary.
- Roast at 350 F for 30 minutes, or until the tomatillos start to split and shrivel, just before the onion parts begin to blacken.
- After removing the baking sheet from the oven, carefully place all content into a food processor. Scrape all the oily goodness from the baking sheet into the food processor.
- Add the lime juice, cilantro and salt.
- Blend until smooth.
- Wait to serve until it has cooled.
Simple Pico de Gallo
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4 cups
- 6 tomatoes, diced
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 2 jalapenos, diced (ribs and seeds removed if you don’t want it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 lime’s juice
- Cilantro, finely chopped, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Stir it all together by hand. That’s it. You can also blend it if you prefer a smoother texture (or because your food processor is already ready to go after making the other two!).
What’s in your favorite salsa? —Megan
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