Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Basic Lime Cilantro Salsa in Five Minutes

The hardest part of making fresh salsa is getting the ingredients.

I mean, you have to schlep to the store.  You have to get out of the house and actually go out into Public!

(gasp!)

Then you have to get the stuff!  (Yikes)

I was buying salsa in a jar when I went to the market and I thought to myself, I'm an excellent cook, I know what I am doing, I have amazingly sharp and deadly knives to chop and mince my vegetables, I can make cakes from scratch and wash them down with my coffee that I roast in my own kitchen...

So why not make some basic salsa?

Yeah I know, I'll get off the soap box and stop patting myself on the back.

Thing is that I needed a chunky salsa.  I have been making these big dinner servings of Bean and Cheese Quesadillas lately.  Very high quality food, no "junk" added.  It could be made vegan if I wanted, although I'm fine with it not being vegan.  It could be made Non-Vegetarian if I tossed some meat in it, but I like the way this tastes without adding beef or anything else.

That plus more food than a "regular person" can eat ends up being only 500 calories so I can justify washing it down with a beer.

5.6 ounces of rice fried with salsa, cumin, and chili powder is only 200 calories, plus an ounce of cheese, one corn tortilla, and 100 calories worth of canned refried beans.

(ok, so the salsa isn't zero calories, and I do add about 4 ounces of salsa to it)

But it's the salsa that I'm going on about.  This is basic.  This is something you can throw together when you need some because you ran out.  It's also fresh and without any weird chemicals, so if you're into eating healthy and light, you end up with a lot of the stuff and can justify it. 

Oh and since I'm not adding any oil or anything heavy, it's calorie count is very low.

The process is simple: 

  • Chop all your vegetables up to a rough chop.  (see picture above)
  • Mash the Tomatoes with a fork so that they are partially broken up.  
  • Add lime juice for flavor and preservative. 
  • Store in the fridge and use promptly. 
  • When I make this I tend to keep it in a large plastic bag and smash the Salsa up to make sure it is tenderized
  • It kept a week for me and was still fine in the refrigerator
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 to 3/4 sweet or white onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped and to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Lime Juice, or to taste 
  • Optional: 1 or 2 Finely Chopped or Minced Jalapeno Peppers
  • Optional: 1 Bell Pepper, Roughly Chopped

For the ingredients:

I hate "heat" so I leave the Jalapeno out.  I know, it's Salsa, and it adds flavor, but I can't bring myself to do that. 

Also some people can't abide Cilantro.  It's a genetic thing, I get it.  Some folks think it tastes like soap.  Personally I don't.  I have that "mutation" that makes Cilantro taste wonderful.  So leave it out if you like.

Bottom line, this is a BASIC Salsa recipe.  You can toss in any amount of ingredients and have fun with it. 

After all, if YOU like it, then it's a wonderful thing, right?

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