It is safe to say we all agree that 2020 has felt more like a decade than a calendar year. Some of us have even felt like the holiday season was either never going to get here or was so far off we couldn’t devote time to thinking about it. Well, the Christmas decorations are popping up around houses and they are taking over stores. If the decorations were not indication enough, Thanksgiving is just around the corner should be all the notice you need to realize the Holiday Season is here.
Holidays mean family gatherings. Even if they will be scaled back this year, having family gather around a table is one of the greatest pastimes of our country. It also means time for preparing food for those visiting guests. Of course, the turkey is high up on the list, but what about the other food items you prepare so your guests can snack while socializing? How about making your own salsa?
At the beginning of the year, we posted a blog about making your own Nachos. If you are interested in that, you can learn how here: https://nachohippo.com/2020/01/08/make-your-own-nachos/ There are some good tips on how to make your own tortilla chips in that blog. We think it is worth the read!
But on to the salsa! There are several reasons to make your own salsa. There is just something about turning fresh vegetables into a salsa that is both exciting and rewarding. The other benefit to making your own salsa is that it doesn’t taste like it just came out of a jar. We proudly make our salsas fresh at Nacho Hippo. While we can’t give out the recipe for our Fire-roasted salsa or our Mango Habanero salsa, we can get you a recipe that you can make yourself without too much struggle. It won’t be too oniony, too spicy, or too garlicky either. It even comes with a nice hint of lime.
Ingredient List:
- Fresh Roma tomatoes
- Use the nice and red ones, avoid anything soft. Even better if you have tomatoes from your own garden.
- Canned tomatoes
- Yes, we said fresh, but at home use canned in addition to fresh because it gives the salsa a better consistency.
- Fresh cilantro
- Cilantro adds key flavor, don’t omit this!
- Jalapeno
- It adds a nice kick but if you don’t like heat you can replace it with 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper, or leave it out completely.
- Red onion
- Yellow onion can be substituted here if you prefer.
- Green onion
- If you don’t want to buy both kinds of onions you can omit the green onions and add just a little more red onion.
- Garlic
- Yes, it is small, but garlic packs a flavorful punch. Only use fresh garlic here for the best flavor.
- Lime
- This brightens up the flavor of the salsa.
- Chili powder and cumin
- A nice addition if you have them on hand.
- Sugar
- Just a touch balances out the acidity of the tomatoes and lime. If you are using tomatoes from your own garden, you will not need as much sugar. Homegrown tomatoes tend to be of higher quality and more flavorful than store-bought.
- Salt and pepper
- Salsa would taste flat without the salt and the pepper adds a light kick.
Once you compile the ingredients, roughly chop them up. We recommend you add them all into a food processor along with the spices and lime juice. Use the chop feature on quick bursts until the salsa is finely chopped up to give you that restaurant-style salsa.
But what if you don’t have a food processor? You can complete the same task in a blender. Just chop the ingredients up finely before putting everything into the blender. This will create more of a puree style salsa, but still carries the flavors we all love.
Fresh salsa is a gift to your taste buds. It tastes so much better than salsa from a jar. But be mindful it is only good for about a week when stored in a sealed container and refrigerated. We recommend making your salsa a day before serving it. This lets the flavors blend together.
We think this salsa recipe could be the spice your family gathering needs. We hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and get to celebrate the many things you are thankful for this year. We know we are thankful for followers like you.
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