Saucy Salsa!

July 24, 2024

Salsa on over for some tasty salsa! Yes, I’m dancing because I love a good salsa with my meals. When I refer to salsa, I’m not just talking about the kind you find in a jar and use tortilla chips to scoop up. I enjoy pre-made salsa, but I’m also excited about the easy-to-make salsas made with fresh ingredients that are so easily found this time of year. When I have an over abundance of veggies, fruits and herbs, I look for ways to use them to enhance my meals. A flavorful salsa is like a surprise POW! to brighten any dish.

The spicy tomato-based salsas we find in stores today are fairly similar to original recipes dating back to the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans. These recipes included a mix of squash seeds, tomatoes, beans and chilies. Today, you will see ingredient lists including garlic, lime, onions, cilantro, tomatillos, avocado, corn as well as a variety of fruits such as mango, pineapple and grapes. In the early 1900s, spicy salsa made its way to American plates when Southern cooks integrated spices that brought the heat into their recipes. It became more widespread in the 1940s and 1950s and even more so in the 1980s when Mexican restaurants became popular. Now it’s a top ranked condiment purchase, and since 1991, it has occasionally even topped the sale of ketchup!

While the name salsa is Spanish for sauce, it’s more of a condiment than sauce. Fun fact: in 1998, the USDA designated salsa as a vegetable in the food pyramid. Just another way to pack in good-for-you veggies! Bonus fact: salsa is low in calories, high in fiber, and chock-full of immune-boosting vitamins. Not a fact… but a great point: salsa pairs well with all kinds of food! My sister loves salsa on her scrambled eggs in the morning and my nephew (who’s trying to drop a few pounds) likes to add a scoop to his proteins like chicken and fish so he doesn’t feel like he is sacrificing flavor on his healthy-eating plan. I’m a big fan of the sweet and hot combination that a fruit salsa adds to my pork dishes. There’s a salsa for everyone.

If you can chop and dice and squeeze a lime, you can make salsa.

Six Salsas to Savor:

• Salsa Roja: This is your classic red that is easily found on grocery shelves. It contains blended and cooked ingredients made with tomatoes, chiles, onions, and garlic. If choosing pre-made, beware of added sugar.
• Pico de Gallo: This chunky salsa is made with fresh ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, chilies, cilantro, and lime juice. It is not cooked and can be used as a topping for salads and proteins and, of course, a dip.
• Salsa Verde: Like the name translates, this salsa is green. The green color comes from green tomatillos in place of red tomatoes. The other common ingredients include onion, cilantro, lime juice, and peppers. Salsa verde is cooked and blended to make a sauce and served chilled.
• Salsa Taqueria: Cooked and blended to a smooth consistency, this salsa is made with tomatoes, arbol chilies, onion, lime juice, garlic, and salt. The arbol chilies give it quite the kick and add a touch of smokiness. Salsa Taqueria is typically used as a topping for tacos.
• Salsa de Aguacate:  Similar to guacamole, this salsa is made with avocado. However, rather than being chunky like guacamole, the  avocado, tomatillos, onion, cilantro and olive oil are blended smooth and creamy.
• Salsa Criolla: Red onions are the star ingredient in this salsa. First, the onions are mixed with salt to pull out their naturally sweet flavor and then chopped aji Amarillo peppers, cilantro, and lime juice are added. Aji Amarillo peppers are a yellow Peruvian chili pepper.
• Fruit Salsa: Replace tomatoes with a fruit such as pineapple, mango or peach and then add in ingredients such as onion, chilies and lime juice. Fruit salsa makes a lovely topping for almost any protein or salad.

Salsa Right Up To The Table With These Recipes!

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