mtc@datagen.UUCP (02/17/84)
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This is a reposting of an article I submitted a while ago.
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SALSA: Algorithm for a Mexican-style Red Sauce
"Salsa" is the Spanish word for "sauce". It is ALWAYS served with
a Mexican meal; with Tortilla Chips as an appetizer or snack, or
available for spicing up a main course.
I never follow a recipe to make salsa (most of my cooking is done via
"algorithm" rather than measuring), I just combine the ingredients and
then ingredients adjust them to taste. Therefore, this Salsa
Algorithm is just a suggested list of ingredients. The amount of any
ingredient is up to your personal taste; you can make it as mild or
spicy as you wish.
For the basic salsa, you should have one of each category as listed
here:
* TOMATO. If there are good and ripe fresh tomatoes
available, use several. If they are excessively watery, it
may be necessary to crush them to get rid of some of the
water (drink the liquid or save it for cooking! its good).
Remove the stem part and chop or puree the tomatoes.
Unfortunately, most of the year there are not good ripe
tomatoes available on the produce counter. During this
time, I recommend using canned whole tomatoes. If you can, get
the Italian pear-shaped tomatoes, since they are meatier.
Drain all of the liquid from the can, and squeeze the
tomatoes if necessary to remove more liquid. Chop the
tomatoes or puree them. The ready-pureed or stewed tomatoes
are reasonable to use and save some work.
If the tomato sauce (fresh or canned) is still too watery, add
some tomato paste.
* ONIONS. I generally prefer scallions (I call them "green
onions") chopped finely, but you can use any onion chopped
to the consistency that pleases you.
* GARLIC. Crush one or more cloves in a garlic press, and if
you want to, chop the solid part left over and use it too.
Garlic powder and garlic salt are unacceptable.
* CHILI PEPPERS. You can use ANYTHING here you want. The
canned chilis from the Mexican food section of the grocery
are adequate. If you can, use fresh peppers, remembering
that the smaller, the hotter. For fresh peppers, cut them
open and remove the stem part, seeds, and veins. For hot
peppers, you would be advised to use rubber gloves, since
seeds and veins are very hot indeed. DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF
YOUR SKIN after handling peppers - ESPECIALLY YOUR EYES,
NOSE, etc. Chop the cleaned peppers finely, especially if
they are very hot. I also like to use a dash of various
powdered chilis - a poor substitute is commercial chili
powder.
The other ingredients are less necessary. They will improve any
salsa, but if you don't have them, it will still be tasty.
* CILANTRO: same as "coriander greens", also known as
"Chinese parsley". Regular parsley lacks the distinctive
taste of these greens. You can get them at many Chinese or
Mexican groceries. Chop the greens like you would chop
fresh parsley.
* CUMIN (Comino): this is a fairly common seed which is
widely available in groceries. The whole seed, freshly
ground, is preferable. Whole seeds can be found in
Mexican, Middle eastern, Indian, and Chinese groceries. I
consider Cumin to be essential to any salsa.
* BLACK PEPPER: some freshly ground pepper, to taste, is
nice.
* SALT: to taste.
* Chunks of Avocado are very nice in a Salsa, but they will
not keep as long as the rest of the ingredients.
Combine the ingredients at least an hour before serving. You can puree
them in a blender if you want an even consistency; I prefer a very
chunky sauce (so I can get as much on a tortilla chip as possible!).
Chill. The leftovers will last for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
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Ariel: do you REALLY put vinegar in your salsa? Isn't there enough acid
in the tomatoes and chillies already?
Mark Colan {allegra, decvax!ittvax, rocky2} ! datagen:mtc
Markarchiel@teklds.UUCP (Archie Lachner) (02/20/84)
According to everything I've read, hot peppers are NOT acidic! The hot taste
comes from a chemical that acts as an irritant. Many "modern" varieties of
tomatoes are low in acid. This is important if you can your own salsa.
Unless you use a pressure cooker, you must add enough acid (such as vinegar)
to make "wet pack" canning safe. I'm not really sure how much is enough,
so I use lemon juice and a dash or two of vinegar in my salsa. Failure to
do this (or to add some other source of acid) when canning salsa may result in
FOOD POISONING!
--
Archie Lachner
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