But wait! Isn't salsa generally vegan? You'd think so, but you'd be amazed how often I get asked "Oh, can you eat X", when X is something like a potato. So rest assured. Vegans can eat this. I promise.

Salsa Shark!

  • 6 - 8 good-sized heirloom tomatoes (I like a variety--at least one darker and one sweeter orange or yellow)
  • 3 jalapeno peppers, diced (remove some/all seeds for a milder salsa--use more and/or stronger peppers [habaneros are really hot, fresnos and serranos are also pretty hot])
  • 1/2 a medium onion
  • 1/4 - 1/2 lime (I like more lime in a mild salsa, less lime in a hot salsa)
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • salt, to taste

While the above ingredients are more or less indisputable (except by cheaters), what to do with them is the subject of some debate. Do you blend them? Or hand dice? Thick salsa? Or thin?

Personally, I like a thinner, hot salsa. If it's too thick and it's not hot, then it's really a pico de gallo.  But a person could make a cause for a chunkier salsa. I, however, am not that person.

The bigger question is whether you want to use a food processor/blender or whether you wan to hand dice. I've heard tell that using a blender will bruise your tomatoes and will produce a lower quality salsa. Thus, hand dicing will produce a better flavor. I've tried this both ways, and I can't tell a huge difference. If you are using a blender/food processor, take care not to over-process--this will result in a very water salsa. Also, I'm a firm believer in surgically removing any/all tomato guts in almost all recipes. It'll just make your salsa more watery.

So. You can choose either path here. Either (a) throw everything in the blender/food processor and blend, or (b) dice live you've never diced before. Or (c) try both and get back to me.

Either way, this takes very little time and is better than most anything you can get at the store (which, admittedly, isn't saying a whole lot). If you're feeling really ambitious, this would make an excellent foray into canning. Even if you're not feeling ambitious, this would make an excellent foray in to canning.

Huzzah!