The Saga of the Salsa

The Saga of the Salsa

Chicken wings… chips... burgers… hot dogs… fries… tacos and nachos… dips galore… and all forms of potato-y goodness.

Superbowl Sunday is anticipated - and planned for - all year long, even by those who don’t watch football and don’t even know who’s playing. The biggest draw of the ubiquitous Superbowl party is the food: sweet, salty, spicy, cheesy, crunchy, saucy & delicious!

Who knew that a simple salsa could be so satisfying? This odyssey of olfactory and flavorful discovery was not intentional, but happened quite by accident: I wanted chips & salsa. No, that’s not quite correct: the truth is, I craved chips and salsa. I had a brand new bag of crunchy, corny, salty tortilla chips. I had no salsa. I had nacho cheese… cheddar cheese… queso… mozzarella cheese… no salsa. I checked the pantry… checked the fridge… rechecked the pantry (because, obviously, I had somehow overlooked it)... stood in the middle of the kitchen like salsa would mystically appear because, you know, the tortilla chips were already here. I know, I know – who has tortilla chips & NO salsa?? But these are the things that happen in my life. Moving on…

This wouldn’t normally have been a culinary dilemma, as the closest grocery store is only a few minutes’ drive – but it was winter… in Michigan… and snow was coming down… and it was almost 11pm, which is the time the store closes… and I didn’t want to leave the house. This sucks. I still wanted salsa. As I stood in the middle of the kitchen contemplating my life choices while grocery shopping and trying to figure out what horrible distraction had caused me to miss procuring salsa for my lonely tortilla chips, a spark of an idea began to form - a wonderful, awful idea…

Well, this idea turned out to be just wonderful, but I had that same Grinch smile on my face while it formed. As I searched the fridge and pantry again, I was looking for salsa ingredients, even though I had never made salsa – my reasoning is that it’s just diced and seasoned vegetation, so I could definitely pull this off (I’m pretty good in the kitchen). Tomatoes, cilantro, lime (we have a LIME and no tortilla chips???), onion, a couple cans of green chiles (purchased to make nacho dip, but, whatever), garlic (household staple), a couple jalapenos (but I only needed one) – and kosher salt and cracked black pepper because the taste really is better than just table salt & pepper, trust me.

I prefer chunky salsa, so I chopped everything with this in mind, thinking that I could always toss everything in the blender, if needed. I added ingredients according what looked (& smelled) good and tasted as I went along. This was the freshest, most vibrant salsa I’d ever tasted: the bright, juicy tomatoes, crunchy onion, the jalapeno and chile kick – add in the other ingredients and I was suddenly glad that I didn’t have store-bought salsa on hand. It was delicious!

I’ve made this salsa many times since, to great acclaim, and it’s totally customizable according to your personal taste: try using heirloom tomatoes or bolder peppers, if you really crave the hot stuff. A word of warning: if you make this salsa, you’ll never go back to the jarred stuff again. Enjoy!

CHUNKY FRESH GAME-DAY SALSA

• 10-12 Roma tomatoes

• ½ large red onion, chopped fine

• 1 jalapeno, chopped fine, seeded (or seeds left in if you like it hotter)

• 2 4-oz cans diced green chiles (mild or hot or 1 of each, your preference)

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• 4 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

• Juice of 1 medium lime

• Kosher salt & cracked black pepper, to taste

Wash and dice tomatoes and put in a medium bowl. Add red onion, jalapeno, diced chiles, garlic, cilantro, combine ingredients. Add lime juice, salt & pepper, mix well, adjust seasoning to your preference. Let the mmmmmmmmmms commence.

Enjoy this salsa with your favorite tortilla chips, garnishing those touchdown tacos, as a kicked-up burger topping, or slather over any meat that comes off the grill (burgers and chicken breast are the best) – you’ll thank me later.