I WAS A TEENAGER WHEN I FIRST LEARNED THAT SALSA was something one could make at home. Up until that point, I functioned under the belief that salsa was the product of some mysterious alchemy, something that could only be purchased at Safeway or Trader Joe’s. This culinary revelation came when my parents went on a trip to Europe leaving my sister and me with a family friend.
Deliah had a completely different approach to food than the three balanced meals a day routine that Raina and I were familiar with. She used lots of bright, vivid flavors and believed that dinner could consist of fresh salsa, tortilla chips, and a dollop of sour cream. Needless to say, we adored her.
One afternoon, I watched as she made the salsa. She dragged a colander of tomatoes out to the living room coffee table, along with onions, garlic, cilantro, a single hot pepper, a cutting board, mixing bowl, sharp knife, and salt shaker. She set up her tools in front of the TV and chopped while watching Oprah. When everything was combined, she set the bowl aside for an hour, to let the flavors mingle. Later, we feasted until our lips blistered from the acids.
Later, I taught my mom how to make salsa and we would make batch after batch from the tomatoes that grew in the backyard, using it to top scrambled eggs or digging into with chips. The first year I was living in Philadelphia, my dad and sister came to visit me for Thanksgiving. My mom couldn’t fly that year, so in her place, she sent a quart jar of homemade salsa in her place, triple wrapped and tucked into my dad’s checked luggage. It wasn’t quite as good as seeing her, but nearly.
These days, fresh salsa is one of my summertime refrigerator staples. However, because its time is so fleeting, I also make up at least a dozen jars of various, shelf-stable salsas and relishes, to tide me over until the summer season returns.
One thing to note about these recipes is that they read like a ton of work. However, it’s really just all chopping. Once the knife work is done, it’s just a matter of simmering, filling the jars, and processing. I recommend inviting a friend over to help make the work go faster.