When Life Gives You Tomatoes, Make Salsa!

Have you ever found yourself with more fresh produce than you know what to do with? Maybe you visited the local farmers market on Saturday and bought a few juicy tomatoes right at their peak. You promised yourself you’d get creative trying out different recipes, but then life hit and you got super busy as so many of us do. You don’t want to waste your bounty from the farmers market, but you also don’t want to spend hours on end in the kitchen. Fortunately, you’re not alone. No matter how many tomatoes I have at home, I find that I just can’t resist another perfectly ripe tomato in season. And so, I’ve found myself in a similar predicament several times this summer, where I just can’t eat another tomato sandwich, but I desperately want to make the best of my fresh produce haul. Enter our solution: fresh homemade salsa.

Why Homemade Salsa?

Once you’ve made your own fresh salsa, you might find it difficult to go back to the store-bought kind! You’ll be amazed at how fresh and vibrant homemade salsa tastes, plus it doesn’t contain any additives or preservatives. It requires very few inexpensive ingredients and takes no time at all to whip up. 

Chopper Perks 

A food processor ensures salsa making is a breeze since it eliminates the need to chop everything finely by hand. Even better, the Multi-function Food Chopper and the SCHNOZ Mini Garlic Chopper are dishwasher safe, making cleanup a piece of cake.  

Colander Perks

The FRUITY Rotating Colander holds over two quarts, which is perfect for rinsing a few bulky tomatoes. Once you’ve processed the tomatoes, add them back to the colander. Since the colander rotates 90 degrees, you can easily strain out any excess juice without the mess. You can also remove the basket to reveal the bowl underneath, which is super convenient, as we’ll need this bowl later on to hold our chopped ingredients. 

Coring Tomatoes

Coring tomatoes can be a little difficult so I like to cut the tomato down the middle vertically into four pieces. Once you’ve done that, lay a wedge of tomato flat on its side, cut away the core and discard it. You’ll want to do this for each tomato wedge. 

Crushing Garlic

To really get the best flavor from garlic, you’ll want to crush it. Place the garlic under the flat side of your knife and lightly press down on the blade with the heel of your hand until the garlic gives just a bit. You should then be able to easily remove the peel and cut off the base of the garlic clove. 

Finding Your Spiciness Comfort Level

Cut off the tip of the jalapeño. You’ll want to taste how spicy it is in order to determine how much jalapeño you want to add to the salsa. Once you’ve determined your spiciness comfort level, slice off the stem and cut the rest into large chunks. 

Waste Not, Want Not

Herb stems have quite the concentration of flavor, so resist the urge to throw them away! You can either add them to the salsa, or alternatively, you can chop the stems, place them in the Airtight Ice Tray with Lid, and top them with a little water. Cover the ice cube tray with the lid so as to prevent any freezer burn and place it in the freezer. The silicone mold makes it easy for us to pop out convenient cilantro cubes to use for our future cooking endeavors. Plus, we can store the ice cube tray vertically or stack it so it doesn’t take up much room in the freezer.

Achieving a Juicy Lime

Got a firm lime? No worries! Take the lime and using the heel of your hand, roll it along the cutting board until it gives slightly. Doing this will result in a juicier lime.

How Much Salt?

Before adding salt, test the salsa with a tortilla chip. Since they can be fairly salty, you don’t want to go overboard when it comes to salting the salsa.

A Tasty Tip

Try serving the chips and fresh salsa with a margarita! Using an artisanal ice cube from the Sphere Ice Mold will result in your margarita looking like it was handed straight to you from the bartender at your favorite restaurant.

Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yields: 1 quart

• Four large tomatoes
• One large onion (white, yellow, or sweet)
• Four cloves of garlic
• Juice of one lime
• One bunch of cilantro
• Salt to taste

Optional:

• One jalapeño, seeds included (optional)
• Splash of tequila (optional)

Directions: 

1. Rinse the tomatoes using the FRUITY Rotating Colander. 
2. Core and cut the tomatoes into quarters.
3. Process the tomatoes to your desired consistency in the Multi-function Food Chopper. Transfer to the colander and strain out any excess juice. Separate the basket from the bowl and add the chopped tomatoes to the bowl.
4. Peel and cut the onion into quarters. Transfer the onion to the food chopper and process to your desired consistency. Transfer the onion to the same bowl as the tomatoes. 
5. Add the peeled garlic and jalapeño pieces to the SCHNOZ Mini Garlic Chopper. Chop until finely diced then add the jalapeño and garlic to the same bowl as the tomatoes and onions.
6. Rinse your cilantro and add to the mini chopper and chop until fine. Add the cilantro to the bowl.
7. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the lime juice into the bowl.
8. Add salt to taste. 
9. Add a splash of tequila to bring it all together, if desired.
10. Mix the salsa together with a spoon.
11. Serve the salsa in the bowl and serve it with tortilla chips. Enjoy!