Chop, mix together, and refrigerate 2 -3 hours
I use this in my homemade chimichangas.
OOOooo 7Ghent That sounds yummy:) I'm going to add the roasted tomatoes and olive oil to my recipe. Thanks!
Glowin_Orbs Salsa (NOT mild)
Chop everything up, mix it, and eat it. It gets hotter if you let it sit overnight.
Salsa in Spanish means "Sauce", and because there are more people who like food than dancing here on E2, there's been a heavy emphasis on the dip/food Salsa.
For a different part of the population, however, Salsa is not just food, but one of the most energetic dances around. Fast-paced, sure to leave you sweaty like a dog, but still. Fun!
My first Salsa experience:
I enter the room in the basement of Oslo's largest Student Village hesitantly. Richard, my friend from Curaçao pulls me along. As the door opens, I am met by a girl/woman, about 30 years old. She is quite pretty, and drowns me in a tsunami of Spanish words spoken at the same speed as, say, a fine tuned Kalashnikov AK-47. Richard saves me from her by answering in Spanish, and we are admitted to the room. When I am entering, I am met by a wall of sound. Cowbells, people clapping, trumpets, djembes, an electric bass guitar, a saxophone, a trombone, a three-piece choir, castanets, people stomping and singing, people dancing, people clinking wine glasses. I am introduced to about five hundred stunningly beautiful girls (and this is before I got drunk) between 20 and 50 years old. They weren't necessarily so pretty, but they were... they were so alive.
I enter the room in the basement of Oslo's largest Student Village hesitantly. Richard, my friend from Curaçao pulls me along. As the door opens, I am met by a girl/woman, about 30 years old. She is quite pretty, and drowns me in a tsunami of Spanish words spoken at the same speed as, say, a fine tuned Kalashnikov AK-47. Richard saves me from her by answering in Spanish, and we are admitted to the room.
When I am entering, I am met by a wall of sound. Cowbells, people clapping, trumpets, djembes, an electric bass guitar, a saxophone, a trombone, a three-piece choir, castanets, people stomping and singing, people dancing, people clinking wine glasses.
I am introduced to about five hundred stunningly beautiful girls (and this is before I got drunk) between 20 and 50 years old. They weren't necessarily so pretty, but they were... they were so alive.
About the Salsa
Salsa is all about being alive - the word Salsa, as mentioned, means Sauce. This is not a coincidence - the dance is a wonderful mix of a wide range of Latin and Caribbean dances, such as the Mambo, the Rumba, the Merengue, the Cumbia, the Cha Cha Cha, the Son and the Tango. The beginning steps were easy to learn (trust me - If I can learn it, anyone can) , but from there it quickly got more serious.. Swinging hips, closeness to the dance partner, from quick little steps to long sweeping, whirling motions. And (of course) smiling faces. The big thing about Salsa is that you don't dance with the same partner all night - In one night, I found myself dancing with 30-odd different partners. All of them were sadly better than me (being a male, you lead the dance. Disastrous if you don't know what you're doing. Extremely funny too, of course.) The major impression I got fromt the Salsa, though: Everybody smiles. How can you do anything else? This is being alive at an entirely different level.
Salsa is all about being alive - the word Salsa, as mentioned, means Sauce. This is not a coincidence - the dance is a wonderful mix of a wide range of Latin and Caribbean dances, such as the Mambo, the Rumba, the Merengue, the Cumbia, the Cha Cha Cha, the Son and the Tango.
The beginning steps were easy to learn (trust me - If I can learn it, anyone can) , but from there it quickly got more serious.. Swinging hips, closeness to the dance partner, from quick little steps to long sweeping, whirling motions. And (of course) smiling faces.
The big thing about Salsa is that you don't dance with the same partner all night - In one night, I found myself dancing with 30-odd different partners. All of them were sadly better than me (being a male, you lead the dance. Disastrous if you don't know what you're doing. Extremely funny too, of course.)
The major impression I got fromt the Salsa, though: Everybody smiles. How can you do anything else? This is being alive at an entirely different level.
Salsa Music
Salsa music is typically quite fast - between 175 and 225 bpm. It often has a cowbell with a clear rhythm pattern that is easy (?) to dance to, and usually has lots of brass instruments. Go to a club and dance - I can't really describe it :) As for bands... I wouldn't know, really.. Have a look at names like Wilfrido Vargas, El Gran Combo, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Johnny Pacheco.. The first mentioned is my favourite, but YMMV
Salsa music is typically quite fast - between 175 and 225 bpm. It often has a cowbell with a clear rhythm pattern that is easy (?) to dance to, and usually has lots of brass instruments. Go to a club and dance - I can't really describe it :)
As for bands... I wouldn't know, really.. Have a look at names like Wilfrido Vargas, El Gran Combo, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Johnny Pacheco.. The first mentioned is my favourite, but YMMV
Learning Salsa
There are hundreds of Salsa clubs all over the world - have a look at http://www.salsabeat.freeserve.co.uk if you can't find one.
Oh, and in case I hadn't mentioned this yet: HAVE FUN! (Why else would you want to dance?)
-30-
However, some salsas stand out above others. One such salsa can be found at the Tex-Mex American restaurant chain, Chevy's. While much of their food is about average for Tex-Mex, they're known as having one of the best salsas you can find.
The recipe is much more labor-intensive than most, since you're not just simply chopping up a few vegetables. But it's worth it.
Chevy's Fresh Salsa 6 medium tomatoes 10 red jalapeno chiles 1/4 medium Spanish onion 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Cilantro 2 tablespoons white vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 teasponns mesquite-flavored liquid smoke Get your barbeque grill all nice and going at high temperature. If you happen to have a mesquite grill, then you can use that, and remove the liquid smoke from the recipe. Rub some oil over the tomatoes, remove the stems if necessary, and place them on the hot grill. After about 10 minutes on the grill, add the jalapenos. Wait another 10 minutes, then turn the items on the grill. Grill the tomatoes until the skin is partially black, and falling off, and the jalapenos until the skin is completely black. Remove from the grill, and let them cool. After cooled, remove the skin from the tomatoes. Take any stems off of the jalapenos. Now, there are two ways to go about this. You can toss all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree if you like a nice smooth salsa. Or, you can finely chop all of the ingredients if you want something a little more chunky, like you find in the restaurant. Either way, when done, mix well, cover, and chill for at least several hours, preferrably overnight. Eat, and enjoy!! Yield: about 2 cups.
6 medium tomatoes 10 red jalapeno chiles 1/4 medium Spanish onion 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Cilantro 2 tablespoons white vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 teasponns mesquite-flavored liquid smoke
Get your barbeque grill all nice and going at high temperature. If you happen to have a mesquite grill, then you can use that, and remove the liquid smoke from the recipe.
Rub some oil over the tomatoes, remove the stems if necessary, and place them on the hot grill. After about 10 minutes on the grill, add the jalapenos. Wait another 10 minutes, then turn the items on the grill. Grill the tomatoes until the skin is partially black, and falling off, and the jalapenos until the skin is completely black. Remove from the grill, and let them cool.
After cooled, remove the skin from the tomatoes. Take any stems off of the jalapenos.
Now, there are two ways to go about this. You can toss all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree if you like a nice smooth salsa. Or, you can finely chop all of the ingredients if you want something a little more chunky, like you find in the restaurant.
Either way, when done, mix well, cover, and chill for at least several hours, preferrably overnight. Eat, and enjoy!!
Yield: about 2 cups.
Here's another salsa recipe, one I found in a wonderful Mexican Cuisine cookbook that creates a nice, chunky, very fresh tasting salsa. This is the salsa that I made for Tiptoe Through the Noders: An E2 Meet in Iowa City, IA, that seemed to go over as a big hit, especially the second day after it had some time to sit and let the flavors blend and permeate each other.
Salsa Mexicana 3-4 fresh ripe tomatoes 1/2 cup diced onion 1/2 cup minced cilantro 4-6 serrano chiles 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons lime juice In a bowl, mix the onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Finely dice the serranos, add, and mix. Dice the tomatoes, add, and mix. Let the salsa stand at least an hour before serving, and overnight is highly recommended. Garlic is not in the recipe, but feel free to add it - I myself never even consider not using it, usually adding 4-5 cloves. Be warned that even 4 serranos makes a somewhat spicy salsa, and 6 makes it quite spicy - especially after it sits overnight, so don't be afraid to start off with less, and add serranos later on to increase the heat until you're happy with it. Or just replace the Serranos with Jalapenos, as the Jalapeno is milder. Yield: 1 1/2 cups.
3-4 fresh ripe tomatoes 1/2 cup diced onion 1/2 cup minced cilantro 4-6 serrano chiles 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons lime juice
In a bowl, mix the onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Finely dice the serranos, add, and mix. Dice the tomatoes, add, and mix.
Let the salsa stand at least an hour before serving, and overnight is highly recommended.
Garlic is not in the recipe, but feel free to add it - I myself never even consider not using it, usually adding 4-5 cloves.
Be warned that even 4 serranos makes a somewhat spicy salsa, and 6 makes it quite spicy - especially after it sits overnight, so don't be afraid to start off with less, and add serranos later on to increase the heat until you're happy with it. Or just replace the Serranos with Jalapenos, as the Jalapeno is milder.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups.
See Also: Salsa and Chutney Recipes
Unknown-Shelf-Life Salsa
Thoroughly clean a bunch of tomatillos and an equal amount of Roma tomatoes. Nip out the hard bits but do not core peel slice etc. The exact amount is determined by the size of your pan. I use a 10X2" Revereware pan, and use enough tomatoes and tomatillos that the next step has to be done twice. That's as close as I can get on the amounts, it's an intuitive thing.
Sear the tomatos and tomatillos over high heat. Keep them moving, they will get black sear marks. The trick is to sear the skins without charring them.
Remove tomatoes, add a little vegetable oil, a bunch of chopped fresh cilantro, a little lime juice, one medium-to-large sweet red onion, quartered and sliced, and 3-7 sliced serrano peppers, the little green/yellow/red ones. Slice 'em in rings, include the seeds if you want it a little hotter. Saute medium-hi heat stirring constantly until onions are nicely transparent. Add one good *glurg* of decent tequila, flame off alcohol with a match. If it doesn't flame add another shot. If it still doesn't flame the pan wasn't hot enough, or you are using cheap tequila. Go invest in a bottle of Cuervo Gold. (If you skip this step you don't have my salsa, you've got spicy tomato sauce.)
After the flames are gone add the tomatillos and tomatoes, one at a time, whole. Crush them with your wooden spoon. If you want to slice them first you can, it won't hurt the taste but might alter the texture. Cover and cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for no less than 30 minutes, until the texture is right. Right being your definition, I like it thick but with some of the ingredients still discrete.
Serve hot. If you want any for tomorrow separate it out and refrigerate in a container marked "Last Week's Table Scraps For Compost" or "Mold Experiment, do not disturb". I've never had a batch last long enough to find out if it will go bad in the fridge, and we're mighty picky about our fresh food in these here parts, When in doubt Throw it out and all that jazz.
Yet another salsa recipe.
The advantage to this is recipe is that it's dirt cheap, usually doesn't require a trip to the grocer's for odd ingredients (in my neighborhood, jalapenos ain't easy to find. Strange but true) and doesn't slide all over your plate the way the stuff from a jar does. It's also tasty as hell, but that's a given, right?
It also doesn't require any time in the fridge to set; in fact, it's best when eaten immediately - i've discovered that this stuff, like guacamole, should be as much about performance and color as possible and there's something special about freshly diced tomatoes the a refrigerator just murders. The spiciness is variable depending on how much pepper you put in it, and is a great way to make your dinners look professional with a minimal amount of work.
The key to this is the details. If you look at the other salsa recipes here (of which there are tons) you'll notice a whole bunch of similar ingredients, but it's the specifics that really bring out the flavor - the difference between red and white onions might not seem to matter that much, but believe me, it does.
Quantities of ingredients are a guess at best - if I wanted to measure things out I'd've become a chemist. Or, for that matter, a chemist.
Oh, and also - how many people this feeds depends on how you're using it. It'll plate eight as a garnish but you'll get less milage out of it with chips.
Anyway.
Stuff you'll need (with notes to follow):
Plum tomatoes (not grape tomatoes - I'm talking about the slightly oblong ones that're the legnth of your middle finger, give or take.) have more meat and less juice to them. It's best if they're just slightly under-ripe as well - these tomatoes are not quite as sweet as their cousins and you definitely want to avoid this tasting like a dessert. In the same vein, red onions are tarter than other varieties and fresh lime juice is less sweet than the bottled stuff. I've avoided adding cilantro here because I have a number of friends who think that that particular herb tastes like soap, and now that they've told me that I can't help but pick that aspect of its flavor out of anything it's in (and now neither can you. Sorry.) If you want a more herbal, gardeny flavor, substitute a quarter of the green onion for fresh parsley.
I've also avoided fresh garlic because, raw as this dish is, raw garlic is overpowering as hell. I love the stuff, I really do, but it conquers any other flavors you try to mix it with and we're going shooting for harmony, here.
As far as preparation goes, there's really not that much to it - take all the ingredients, chop them finely and mix them in a nice, big bowl. You ideally want the tomato to stay in rather large chunks and the onion to be chopped as finely as you can make it by hand. It's also a nice touch to grind the pepper over the salsa at the table just before serving, but that's more showmanship than anything else. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
And before I forget, a note on the garlic salt - that stuff sticks to anything it touches, so you want to shake it on as you're mixing to keep it as consistently spiced as possible. The rest of it can pretty much be tossed in however you'd like. It's also important to not mix it up too much - the more you mix, the more pulverized the tomatoes are going to get and you'd like them to retain some of their firmness.
printable version chaos
Everything2 Help
