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| Photo closetcooking.com |
Fresh homemade salsas are a flavorful, healthy way to use an abundance of summer produce – and of course you can customize these recipes to suit your own tastes. A basic salsa typically includes tomatoes, peppers and onions, but the potential combinations are endless. Make your salsas spicier with a variety of hot peppers; incorporate local fruits for sweeter salsas; add fresh herbs for texture and brightness. Salsas can easily be made raw (such as in a traditional pico de gallo) but throwing the vegetables on the grill adds another flavor dimension that elevates anything you use it with. Beyond the standard corn chips, try dipping fresh raw vegetables or using your salsas as a sauce for flank steak, grilled chicken, shrimp skewers, salmon filets, or burgers. If you want to really save the flavors of summer, you can preserve your salsas by water-bath canning to enjoy throughout the year.
Always remember when using hot peppers that the potent oils easily transfer to your eyes, nose and other sensitive regions. Use disposable gloves when working with hot peppers and always make sure to wash your hands very thoroughly with hot water and plenty of soap.
Bloody Mary Pico de Gallo
6 ripe tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, thickly sliced
1 jalapeno or habanero pepper (or milder pepper to taste)
1 clove garlic (or to taste)
½ cup cilantro
Fresh lime juice
¼ to ½ cup Bloody Mary Mix or tomato juice
Hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Cholula)
Freshly ground pepper and kosher salt
Pinch of sugar
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Place tomatoes, onion slices and peppers on grill. When all ingredients are softened and lightly charred, remove to a platter and let cool briefly.
Using gloves, peel peppers. Place all vegetables in bowl of food processor and gently pulse to combine. Do not over-process. Add fresh herbs, Bloody Mary mix, a squeeze of lime, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Taste for seasoning; balance with lime, more garlic or a pinch of sugar if necessary. Gently process again; do not puree! Taste again for seasoning and serve immediately or let flavors develop at room temperature. Store covered in refrigerator for up to three days.
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| Photo simplyvintagecandles.com |
Colorado Peach & Poblano Salsa
2 ripe peaches, halved
2 poblano peppers
1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeds removed
1 yellow onion, thickly sliced
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley or basil
Lemon juice or white wine, as needed
Hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Cholula)
Freshly ground pepper and kosher salt
Pinch of sugar
Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Spray peaches with nonstick cooking spray and place cut-side down on grill. Follow with poblanos, onion slices and pepper quarters. When all ingredients are softened and lightly charred, remove to a platter and let cool briefly.
Remove peach pit and gently remove peach skin. Peel poblanos and bell peppers. Place peaches and all vegetables in bowl of food processor and gently pulse to combine. Do not over-process. Add fresh herbs, a splash of lemon juice or white wine, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Taste for seasoning; balance with a pinch of sugar if necessary. Gently process again; do not puree! Taste again for seasoning and serve immediately or let flavors develop at room temperature. Store covered in refrigerator for up to three days.
Chef Elizabeth Buckingham is a Colorado native who holds a Grande Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu Paris and Is a Colorado Master Gardener Volunteer with Jefferson County CSU Extension.