How To Make SALSA!!

Quite a few of you have asked for some direction on how to make your own salsa.  I started making my own this past year and I am telling you, fresh is best!!  I don't have an exact recipe - I sort of use the basic concepts my friends Caroline and Mindy taught me, a few tips from a recipe I found in a Point of Grace cookbook, and a little of my own touch.  But hopefully this visual step by step will help you if you feel intimated by this process!  I promise you, it is so easy!!  

Before we start though, remember what I said in a past post - you need a decent sized food processor! Mine is a cheap one from Target, it doesn't have to be fancy - but you are going to need one.  My friend tried to make it in a blender and it just didn't work out.

I am going to show you how to make a medium sized batch.

First, take 5 cans of diced tomatoes (many people use whole - I used diced - you can choose!) and drain them very well.  I even rinse and drain them. If you don't drain them you are going to have soup on your hands.

I also like to add a can of RO*TEL Tomatoes to my salsa - I usually buy regular, but for some reason this time I picked up mild so that's what I used.  I drain these, but not quite as much as the regular tomatoes because of the flavor!

While your tomatoes are finishing draining, you can go ahead and chop your onion.  I always do this first. For a small batch I used a good portion of a small onion and some sprigs of green onion.  The green onion gives it a very fresh flavor!

Put them in the food processor.  Now, here's where you have to be careful.  When you use the processor for salsa, pulse instead of process. Push the pulse button once, then see how it looks.  Then pulse it again and check it, etc.  It will only take a few pulses for your onions to look like this...

Then add in your cans drained tomatoes.  Now remember, pulse, don't process!  You can quickly lose the consistency of salsa and have soup if you are not careful!  Take it slow!

This is what it should look like when you are finished....

Pour your salsa into a bowl and carefully drain any excess liquid from the top.

Now you've come to your last step - it's time to season!  This is what I like to use... Coriander, Cumin, and Sea Salt.

I don't have exact measurements, and some is specific to your personal taste.  I know I salt, stir, and taste with a chip several times in the process, then add probably about 1/2 tsp each of Coriander and Cumin, and of course more for a bigger batch.  Again, you can play around with these flavors.  Definitely taste test using a salted chip - you don't want too much salt, but not enough salt can make your salsa sort of bland.

After you get your seasoning how you like it, drain off any extra liquid again and then do the best part of all - eat and enjoy! I've found that friends really like it when I send a jar over their way too.  :)

I hope this helps~again, there are lots of recipes out there you can try, this is just a guide.  If you have any questions, just send them my way, and remember...practice makes perfect.  After a few tries I'm sure you'll get your salsa just how you like it!!


Love from my kitchen,


Jennifer