We had a big, open-house-style party last weekend. When it comes right down to it, it’s a little difficult to make food that can be served all day. Hot needs to stay hot, cold needs to stay cold. When we finally decided on a taco bar, I started my search for the perfect salsa recipe. We’ve made our own before, but I wanted to try something different. I didn’t find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted, so, as usual, I started throwing things together.
This recipe, as written, makes about 9 pounds of salsa. Yes, that is a lot. However, it’s very flexible and could be scaled down. Lucky for us, we like salsa.
Staci’s Salsa
4 roasted jalapenos
I held these over the open flame on my stove until they were blackened, then rubbed the skin off. Cut in half, remove the stem and seeds and chop.
40 Roma tomatoes
Chop 20 by hand. Process the other 20 in a food processor until small pieces but not obliterated.
1 small white onion
1 small red onion
1/2 large sweet onion
Chop all three onions using a food processor.
2 bunches cilantro
Chop in a food processor. It should yield about 1 cup chopped.
20 dill garlic cloves
I can my own dill garlic and I know it can be hard to find. Regular garlic will also work, but you may want to adjust the amount down. We LOVE garlic, so we use more than some might.
3 limes, juiced
Should yield approximately 1/2 cup of juice.
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
If you only have one or the other of these, you can just use 1/2 cup of that. I was experimenting.
3 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon smokehouse pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
The pepper and paprika give the salsa a smoky flavor, and can certainly be omitted if that’s not what you’re looking for.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate. Salsa is always better if it’s allowed to sit for a day or two so the flavors can blend.
This is a mild to medium salsa. If you like it REALLY hot, like my husband, you can add some chopped fresh habaneros and ghost peppers. I can’t even be in the same room with that one.
My next project will be to try canning some of this…if I can keep it around that long!
