Homemade salsa recipe

[BillB]

This is good.

2 lb roma tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
6 large jalapenos

Cut the tomatoes in half (lengthwise) and remove the stems
Cut the jalapenos in half (lengthwise).
Put everything on a big cookie sheet that has been covered with foil. The peppers should be cut side down. The tomatoes are cut side up.

Put under the broiler for 5 minutes.
There should be brown spots on the garlic and peppers.
Remove them and put them in the food processor
Put the tomatoes back under the broiler until there are large black/brown spots on the cut surface. (about 5-10 minutes).

Put everything in the food processor and pulse it until you get the desired constituency.
Add salt and black pepper to taste.
I use 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper.
Chill and serve.

[Jami]

This is also very good, quick and easy from The Pioneer Woman:

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
1/2 whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

[BillB]

I always scratch my head when I see "whole lime" or "whole lemon" in a recipe.

Lemons and limes vary from a little bigger than a ping-pong ball to huge.

The size you choose can make a lot of difference in the amount of juice that goes into the recipe.

[Jami]

It's like that with many foods. Garlic...cloves vary in size. If it calls for medium onion, exactly what size is medium. I could go on. Unless your are baking or using a very strong flavor, the exact amounts are not usually necessary. Even if an exact amount is given, everyone's tastes differ and may prefer more or less.

[FlashM]

I have a few salsa tips.

If your tomatoes are pale and cotton-y, you can fortify them with a little tomato paste or a forcefully drained 28 oz. can of plum tomatoes. I open the can, remove the top, poke the tomatoes with a skinny knife, put the lid back on and press it hard to pour off the juice. You can use the juice for something else.It's good instead of water if you're making taco beef from a packet of seasoning. Obviously, we don't like a watery salsa!

One chipotle pepper (from a can of Chipotles in adobo sauce) will add a hearty smokey flavor. Two or three will make your salsa very hot and smokey. A small can of them usually contains about 9 peppers. I put the remainder in snack baggies and freeze them for future use.

I like the roasted garlic salsa recipe because it will mellow the garlic and concentrate the tomato flavor, but it's not going to taste very Tex-Mexican without onions, cumin or cilantro. But lots of folks detest cilantro.

About garlic- originally a "garlic clove" was what we call a bulb or head or even fist, and what we now call a clove, they called a "toe" in very old cookbooks. You can imagine the mistakes made when this was transitioning! Using a garlic press instead of mincing peeled garlic softens the flavor; roasting mellows it even more.

[Ryan]

Vicki has taken first place in every salsa contest entered.

She is on a roll!

[FlashM]

Vicki has taken first place in every salsa contest entered.

She is on a roll!

Guessin' her recipe is a secret?

[Ryan]

I will see if she can jump on here and post it. Similar to the first one posted and very basic, but it wins every time!