NewsGuest Recipe: Chunky Fresh Salsa

Posted Sep 23, 2021

By Judy Hevrdejs-King, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Chicago Chapter

Make this chunky, pico de gallo-style salsa at home using farm-fresh tomatoes. Choose the
tomato colors you want (red, yellow or orange) and adjust the chiles’ heat to taste. Use a mix of
plum and slicing tomatoes to balance the slicing tomatoes which produce a lot of liquid.

  • Makes: About 4 1/2 cups
  • Prep time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4 ripe plum tomatoes
  • 2 ripe medium slicing tomatoes
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped white onion
  • 2 to 3 small jalapeno or serrano chiles
  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Salt and lemon or lime juice to taste

Directions:

  1. Coarsely chop plum tomatoes and slicing tomatoes. Put in a bowl. Stir in chopped onion.
  2. Remove stems and seeds from chile peppers. Finely chop chiles then add to tomato-onion
    mix. (To prevent eye irritation, avoid touching eyes while handling the chile peppers).
  3. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and lemon or lime juice to taste. Store salsa in a covered, non-metal container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

Tips:

  • Serve with tortilla chips, tacos or quesadillas. This salsa is also delicious served with eggs,
    grilled meat and fish.
  • Easy guacamole: Pit, peel and mash a few ripe avocados. Stir in some salsa. If there is excess liquid in the salsa, drain a bit off before adding to the mashed avocados. Season to taste with salt and lemon or lime juice.