Forget bottled salsa, make your own
“Salsa is what brings our dishes to life,” Eddie Hernandez writes in his first cookbook, Turnip Greens & Tortillas (Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
Hernandez, executive chef of Taqueria del Sol — a string of Mexican restaurants in the U.S. South — was born in Monterrey, Mexico. “No Mexican I know touches bottled salsas — especially since it is so easy to make and the fresh taste can’t be beat,” he writes.
Raw or cooked, chunky or smooth — salsas are versatile and varied condiments. He writes that although some consider salsa fresca (“fresh sauce”) and pico de gallo (“rooster’s beak”) to be interchangeable terms, he regards them as having different flavours and uses.
Chunky, hand-chopped pico de gallo is better suited to garnishing a taco or piece of fish, Hernandez writes. The smoother salsa fresca (recipe follows), piquant with jalapenos and onion, is perfect for dipping chips into. Makes: 2 cups (500 mL)
The terms salsa fresca (“fresh sauce”) and pico de gallo (“rooster’s beak”) are often considered one and the same, but they have different tastes and purposes. I chop the ingredients for pico de gallo by hand, but I pulse the salsa fresca ingredients in the food processor so that it has a smoother texture that’s better for dipping chips into.
2 jalapenos, stemmed (remove some or all of the seeds and membranes for less heat)
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped white onion
4 large tomatoes, quartered
1 tsp (5 mL) white vinegar 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt
1. Process the jalapenos, cilantro, and onion in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the quartered tomatoes and process until the mixture is fairly smooth but still has some texture. Do not overprocess. Transfer to a small bowl, add the vinegar and salt, and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. The salsa is best served within a few hours of making it, but it will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for three days.