Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Salsa baby,


Salsa baby,

Well the Latin salsa dancer on Dancing With the Stars was eliminated and I think a lot of women out there were heartbroken.  And my favorite, Catherine was eliminated too but I am sure they will make out ok.  The break in seasons gives us a chance to look at salsa and why everyone likes it.  I have seen a lot of salsa recipes and it seems that people think if you chop it up and throw it in a bowl it must be salsa.  Well I am not against experimenting with some ingredients but let’s get back to the basics.  Salsa is essentially a mixture of 3 things with two added later.  Basic salsa is Sweet (not acidic) tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.  Now the mixture has to be adjusted based on how sweet your tomatoes are and how overpowering your onions are.  One thing that a lot of people miss is it takes a lot of cilantro, this is not just a sprinkle.  Now once you have those three if you want some spice you add some hot peppers and just before you serve you add the juice of a lime.  Notice I said the juice of a lime, this is juice that came from a fruit you bought and squeezed by hand over your salsa, not a bottle or lime shaped piece of plastic. In addition to these basics many other things are added like garlic, green or red pepper, chili powder, sugar, scallions and all add something to the flavor.   Some spend extra money to get the chunky salsa I just do not find it as easy to use.  It is hard to dip and the flavors to not seem to blend as well. 
So here is how I make it.  Take out your blender and wipe out the left over daiquiris.
To the blender add:
                 2 cups of roma tomatoes
                1 large onion loosely chopped
                1/3 cup cilantro
Turn on blender and process till smooth, now add
                1 or 2 chipotle peppers
                1 jalapeno
                ½ teaspoon of chili power
                ¼ teaspoon of cumin
                ¼ teaspoon of paprika
Put a small amount of oil in a pan, cook 3 to 4 cloves of garlic until it is soft and started to color, do not overcook  we are talking like 2 minutes here.   Add the garlic to the blender and process
Pour into a bowl and eat.

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