I have had a lot of friends and family ask me for my salsa recipe, and fortunately for them, AJ decided to ask me again the day after I set up my journal:
- 8 medium-sized tomatoes (4-5 large or 10-12 small)
- 1 green pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 habanero (remove the seeds and white fleshy substance on the inside, or just use half a habanero if you need a milder salsa)
- 1/4 - 1/2 onion (depending on how much onion you like)
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- salt to taste (usually about 1 teaspoon for me)
Cut tomatoes, green pepper, and onions up in to pieces small enough to fit it all in a food processor, and add them to the food processor. Then crush the garlic and the habanero and add them to the salsa. Finally, add the sugar and salt, and turn the food processor on for about 20-30 seconds (increase the time for smaller chunks in the salsa, decrease the time for larger ones)
Tip: If you don’t have a food processor, simply cut the tomatoes, onion, and green pepper into as small pieces as you want, then put them in a bowl where you will then add the crushed garlic, crushed habanero (or cut very, very small; trust me, you don’t really want to run in to large pieces of this), brown sugar, and salt. Then simply mix with a wooden spoon until the salt and sugar are thoroughly mixed in. Let the salsa sit for about an hour to allow habanero flavor to diffuse throughout the salsa.
Tip 2: If you don’t have a garlic press, you can crush the garlic with the flat edge of a kitchen knife (easiest when you use a larger knife). Sorry, this doesn’t work for the habanero if you don’t have a garlic press, you’ll just have to cut it up into very, very small pieces. You do not want to run in to large pieces of habanero, unless you enjoy pain.
Tip 3: Either use gloves when handling the habanero, or wash your hands afterwards, and by that I mean to use soap for at least 30 seconds. If you don’t, there will be a day that you will forget you had just made salsa and touch your face with your hands. If you don’t follow this tip, hopefully you enjoy the burning sensation in your eyes or nose for the next few minutes.