Thursday, September 11, 2008

By Popular Request... but you all understand this is a SECRET, right?

Well, it USED to be a family recipe... kept in the FAMILY... but lately I've seen it being shared more openly. Thing is, and I know you're going to think this isn't that funny, but it is really hard to share the recipe and have people like it. I got the gene from my mom, I guess, but I'm not very consistent in measuring things. I always put in what the recipe originally calls for, but then I'll just add a lil here and there of ingredients until it tastes like I want it to. So my disclaimer/advice on this recipe is: adjust it til it tastes like you like your salsa! If too spicy, add more tomatoes. If too bland, throw in some more garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, and cumin. And of course we all know what to do if it is too mild. :) So anyway, here it is.

Valladerez Guatemalan Salsa

  • 56 oz tomatoes, chopped. (be sure to put EVERYTHING from the chopped tomato in the bowl! Can be messy and time consuming because tomatos don't food process well)
  • 16 oz tomatos, blended (or if you prefer chunkier salsa, add these to the chopping block group).
  • 1 large bunch cilantro, rinsed and finely chopped (tradition dictates ONLY the leaves are included in salsa. I'm here to tell ya that pulling off all those leaves from the entire bunch can be time consuming and tedious. If you don't want to waste the stems and could care less about Guatemalan tradition, then be sure to food process them so noone gets a 'woody' bite.)
  • 1 BIG onion, finely chopped (again, pulsing on food processor helps speed things up and cuts down on crying).
  • 4 big cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (or leave the seeds for extra spice. I like to blend the jalapenos at the same time as the onion or other ingredient so that noone gets a big spicy surprise bite!)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • *pinch of red pepper flakes- optional
  • *1-2 Tbl lemon juice- optional
well, there you have it. simple. basic. Hope ya'll enjoy. Also, if you want to make this salsa with canned tomatoes instead of fresh, you can do it. (better fresh, but I'm biased.) Just use 2 cans 28-oz peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped instead of 56 oz fresh and 1 can crushed tomatoes, drained instead of blending 16 oz. If hosting a party of some kind, it is tasty to put a block of cream cheese right in the middle of the salsa bowl. Delicious combo! :)

6 comments:

  1. Now I know where to go for a good Salsa Recipe. I was going to tell you that I have a good pregnancy cookbook you are welcome to borrow if you want.

    Have fun nesting!

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  2. Do you peel and seed any of the tomatoes?

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  3. well, you CAN peel them, but that is too much effort if you ask me. the peel tastes fine and doesn't interfere texture-wise, so I don't bother. Don't seed any tomatoes.If it gets really juicy (which it does...), and the juice is annoying, just drain off some juice and reserve for something else, like adding to tomato soup or veggie smoothies.

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  4. Mmmm! Those pictures of your salsa look SO good. Think I might have to make some tonight. Thanks for the recipe! And p.s., last I heard, they didn't find the guy they were looking for in my neighborhood. Great.

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  5. I'm really excited you shared the recipe. I've enjoyed lots of bowls of your salsa and now I'm goign to give it a try on my own. Thanks for divulging the recipe!

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  6. Oh my goodness, that looks SO GOOD! Thank you for sharing the recipe, it would have been painful to just see those incredible pictures and not know how to make it!

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