Fresh Mexican Salsa

Salsa is definitely at the top of my favorite foods list. I’ve eaten countless bowls of it at Mexican restaurants and at home. My husband shares my love of this tasty dip as well. We always have one, if not two different kinds of it in our fridge.

I came across this cookbook last week called Bold and Healthy Flavors. It’s written by “master griller”, and  bestselling author , Stephen Raichlen. One of the first recipes in the book is for a Basic Mexican Salsa made with fresh tomatoes. That is where the inspiration for my salsa recipe comes from.

This cookbook has a ton of healthy and tasty sounding meals that I can’t wait to try.

The ingredients:

Tomatoes ( you want juicy, vine-ripened ones) , red onion, garlic, a jalapeno, fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice, ground cumin, salt.

Next, dice up three medium tomatoes. The next few pictures are of how I diced the tomatoes. I’m sure it’s all wrong as far as culinary standards go, but this is what works for me.

First, cut off the top of the tomato.

Cut the tomato in half vertically. Laying the tomato cut side down on the cutting board, make 1/2 inch slices.

Then, make even slices lengthwise.

Slice it crosswise.

Toss the tomatoes into a medium sized bowl.

Now, time to bring on the heat. The jalapeno I had was pretty large, so I just used one. You might need two if using smaller jalapenos.

Chop the stem off of the jalapeno(s). Cut in half lengthwise.

Now, here is where you will need to decide how much heat you want in your salsa. Remove all of the seeds and ribs of the jalapeno if you want a milder salsa.

Since, I like my salsa on the spicy side, I left the seeds in half of the large jalapeno that I had. This ended up being a little too spicy even for me, so next time I would use a little bit less of the seeds. It was muy caliente.

Slice the jalapeno very thinly lengthwise. Then, slice it crosswise into tiny pieces.

Chop up some cilantro. I really love cilantro, so I used about a 1/3 cup of it. Again, here you can adjust the amount to suit you. Add that to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Next, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin.

Add 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice.

Mix to combine.

Do the chip taste test. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Enjoy with some baked tortilla chips for a healthy and tasty snack.

Picture updated 8-26-2017

By Tempie at August 26, 2017.