Our garden has been producing some gorgeous tomatoes, so I needed to come up with a way to use them. This fresh tomato salsa recipe from my mother-in-law seemed like the perfect solution for my tomato abundance.
Just look at all of these beautiful ingredients. It can’t get much more fresh than this. I just love the colors of Mexican food. The bright greens and reds just draw me in and make me feel healthy just looking at them. Here’s the recipe:
FRESH TOMATO SALSA
1 clove garlic, peeled
¼ of a red onion
1 jalapeno pepper – ¼ for mild, ½ for medium, more for hotter
3 Roma tomatoes – remove center of tomatoes (I didn’t use Roma. I do love Roma, but that is not what I was growing. If purchasing ingredients, I would definitely opt for the Roma variety.)
Handful of cilantro (I did about 3/4 of a bunch)
1 can (14 ½ oz.) Mexican Recipe Stewed Tomatoes
Juice of fresh lime
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
I used the food processor, but she uses the “Miracle Kitchen Plus” salsa machine. Put the ingredients in the machine in the following order: Garlic, Onion, and Jalapeno. I like to use the “pulse button.” Using it means you can really create the texture you would like. If you want more chunky, just use the pulse button less. After pulsing the first set of ingredients, add tomatoes, cilantro, stewed tomatoes, lime juice, salt and pepper. Continue to pulse until ingredients are mixed to desired consistency. Note: You can freeze salsa. If you want to freeze your salsa, it freezes best if you do a finer puree. Remove the excess water before freezing.
Serve with tortilla chips.
I wanted to involve Kenzie in the process of making this salsa. She is my kid who is super hesitant to try new foods. I want to be able to expose her to a lot – from growing food to getting it to the table – so that she’ll be more curious about trying new things. The first way she was able to help was to throw in the ingredients. Make sure to take out the seeds of the jalepeno. They are what pack all the punch. I didn’t have Kenzie touch the jalepeno pepper because of the fear of her getting it into her eyes. That hurts!
Kenzie loved being in charge of pulsing the machine. Remember, pulse a little to get chunky. Pulse a lot if you like a finer texture.
This was the texture I opted for with the first few ingredients.
I taught Kenzie how to seed a tomato. If you don’t know how, I think you will find my tutorial helpful. This is another great job for kids. Many kids like the slimy, messy experience.
Kenzie was able to dump the second batch of ingredients also.
I made a couple batches. The first batch was a bit more smooth and had a more mild flavor. The second batch I opted for more texture and upped the garlic, cilantro and jalapeño. It is a great recipe, but everyone has a different desire for spice level and texture, so you will want to follow the recipe, taste and adapt to your liking.
If you like Mexican food, you might also enjoy:
How long will this salsa last in the jars??
To be honest, I was wondering the exact same thing. It is the first time I have done it like this. It has the lime juice, which helps. Reading Google forums just now, the recommended length is 3-4 days because then the acids begin to break down. You can let people know that they can be frozen. You would just want to try to do a thinner consistency and remove any watery type liquid before freezing. I hope that is helpful. I’ve had mine in the refrigerator about 4 days ago, and it still tastes good to me. I should probably think about freezing that now though.