After nearly 10 years of being in Texas post-college (I’m not factoring in the college years since I mainly ate at Blimpie and Taco Bell), I still hadn’t found a store bought salsa that I liked. Numerous restaurants serve up a tasty offering (I particularly like Luna de Noche’s… anyone have their recipe?), but the countless brands sold in grocery stores just haven’t worked for me.
So… I’ve been working on my own recipe. The third generation version is tasty, so I thought I would go ahead and post it. The “chop chop” in the recipe name refers to the manual dicing with a knife and processing in a food processor. Those are the two main activities involved in the preparation, which was one of my main concerns in creating the recipe. That’s also why I’m not using fresh tomatoes… you’d have to boil them or something and remove the skins. Too much work!
Jay’s Chop Chop Salsa
24 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
1 diced fresh jalapeno (remove the seeds for more mild taste)
1 diced fresh green chili pepper (hot or mild to taste)
1/3 cup diced fresh onion
1 lime
2 crushed fresh garlic cloves
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. sugar
Put the tomato, garlic, salt, cumin, and sugar in a food processor. Cut the lime in half and squeeze both halves into the processor. Process thoroughly. Add the jalapeno, chili pepper, onion, and cilantro. Process until the consistency looks appetizing. Place in covered container and chill. A couple of hours of chilling will help the flavors to develop. Serve with your favorite thin corn tortilla chips… or, if you want to use the best chip in the world, go with El Milagro.
Like you, I have not been satisfied with store-bought salsa. And like you, I have resorted to my own concoction. But unlike your reluctance to use fresh tomatoes, I have been inspired by the salsa at Tino’s restaurant (in the Collin Creek Mall) and believe that the chore of peeling is rewarded by the result. (You can blanch the tomatoes in a short hot water bath that aids in removing the skins. To blanch tomatoes, score an “x” on the bottom of each tomato and place in a large pan of boiling water to blanch for 15 seconds. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to loosen their skin. Then peel the tomatoes.) ¡Comer bueno!
Yes, I had already made the move to fresh tomatoes in my recipe. I got some solid tips from a 70 year old mexican cook. Fresh tomatoes are in. Cumin is out. I’m hoping to try my adjusted recipe this coming weekend.
Salsa: it’s not just for breakfast anymore. Looks like a very tasty recipe. Believe it or not, Araceli has only recently started experimenting with cooked salsas. The results have been marriage-enriching.
Different subject. I’m using SharpReader ( http://www.sharpreader.net/ ), but you aren’t syndicating. What gives?
Just ate at Luna de Noche for the first time today and was so moved by the salsa I had to Google the net to see what I could find. Aparrently I’m not alone. Did you ever get the recipe? They showed me a calendar I could buy that had that and several other tasty concoctions. It was a 2003 calendar and I just couldn’t bring myself to pay full price for a calendar that would be out of date in 3 days. Now I’m wishing I had. It appears the cilantro is what makes it green. The recipe indicated to make it greener, add more cilantro. Hoping I’ll get the recipe one way or another. Let me know if you have it.
Thanks.
Luna De Noche Texas
Famous Green Salsa Recipe
2 32 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons of granulated garlic
2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon of black pepper
3 jalapenos
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
5 bunches of cilantro (1 bunch to be chopped)
Cook jalapenos in 2 cups of boiling water until tender, then drain. For salsa to be chunky, put it in a blender and blend slightly with whole peeled tomatoes and cilantro. Add the spices, oil, and 1 bunch of chopped cilantro. Mix everything well.
Note: If you want a greener salsa, add more blended cilantro.
Mitch,
Thank you so much! I love their salsa and now they are getting rid of it. This recipe is perfect. Thanks alot!
Brent
How long does fresh salsa keep? Anyone?