OK, one thing there's never a
shortage of is
salsa recipes. Heck, there's not even a shortage of good ones, with as many out there as you can find.
However, some salsas stand out above others. One such salsa can be found at the Tex-Mex American restaurant chain, Chevy's. While much of their food is about average for Tex-Mex, they're known as having one of the best salsas you can find.
The recipe is much more labor-intensive than most, since you're not just simply chopping up a few vegetables. But it's worth it.
Chevy's Fresh Salsa
6 medium tomatoes
10 red jalapeno chiles
1/4 medium Spanish onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Cilantro
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teasponns mesquite-flavored liquid smoke
Get your barbeque grill all nice and going at high temperature. If you happen to have a mesquite grill, then you can use that, and remove the liquid smoke from the recipe.
Rub some oil over the tomatoes, remove the stems if necessary, and place them on the hot grill. After about 10 minutes on the grill, add the jalapenos. Wait another 10 minutes, then turn the items on the grill. Grill the tomatoes until the skin is partially black, and falling off, and the jalapenos until the skin is completely black. Remove from the grill, and let them cool.
After cooled, remove the skin from the tomatoes. Take any stems off of the jalapenos.
Now, there are two ways to go about this. You can toss all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree if you like a nice smooth salsa. Or, you can finely chop all of the ingredients if you want something a little more chunky, like you find in the restaurant.
Either way, when done, mix well, cover, and chill for at least several hours, preferrably overnight. Eat, and enjoy!!
Yield: about 2 cups.
Here's another salsa recipe, one I found in a wonderful Mexican Cuisine cookbook that creates a nice, chunky, very fresh tasting salsa. This is the salsa that I made for Tiptoe Through the Noders: An E2 Meet in Iowa City, IA, that seemed to go over as a big hit, especially the second day after it had some time to sit and let the flavors blend and permeate each other.
Salsa Mexicana
3-4 fresh ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup minced cilantro
4-6 serrano chiles
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons lime juice
In a bowl, mix the onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Finely dice the serranos, add, and mix. Dice the tomatoes, add, and mix.
Let the salsa stand at least an hour before serving, and overnight is highly recommended.
Garlic is not in the recipe, but feel free to add it - I myself never even consider not using it, usually adding 4-5 cloves.
Be warned that even 4 serranos makes a somewhat spicy salsa, and 6 makes it quite spicy - especially after it sits overnight, so don't be afraid to start off with less, and add serranos later on to increase the heat until you're happy with it. Or just replace the Serranos with Jalapenos, as the Jalapeno is milder.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups.
See Also: Salsa and Chutney Recipes