Because I wanted to see what happened. Because I wanted to know if it would taste different because yellow and orange tomatoes have less acid.
What happened was, I got salsa, and it tastes really good.
Almost every tomato based sauce recipe I come across says to use Roma tomatoes. I say, bollocks. Grocery store Romas suck.
I say: taste trumps texture, every time. There is no reason whatsoever to compromise taste for texture. You can fix texture if you don’t like it, but once you got that mealy crap all mashed up and you’re wondering, “Should I add some sugar? A shake of vinegar? Salt? Oh, well. Once I add the [cumin, garlic, onions, pepper, oregano, basil, whatever] the tomatoes are just a base anyhow,” you’re screwed. Your sauce is going to taste like the tomatoes you started with no matter what. I say, bull hockey on that. This is dinner at home, not Angeline by Michael Simon. Give me delicious spaghetti with some water on the plate.
Use the best tasting tomatoes you can find. Don't worry about squeezing the seeds out; that jelly is flavor! Will my salsa be watery? I dunno, look at mine and tell me what you think. Those yellow tomatoes were yellow globes, high jelly, not yellow beefsteaks, high flesh. They were pretty watery while I was mashing them. I was actually thinking, “Uh-oh. This might be where the limit is.” But it wasn’t.
Regular grocery store tomatoes, and their beefsteaks, also usually suck, but you know what’s been pretty good for me the last couple years? “Tomatoes on the vine”. I buy them a little underripe, and leave them on the windowsill for about a week. Your stores might be different, though. Wegman’s have their own greenhouses. Now that summer is here, heirlooms are good again (winter heirloom tomatoes are as bad as Romas, at 3x the price.)
Of course, if you can get delicious Romas, or if you grow them, use them. When I find them, I’ll make sure I keep it a secret.
Whats in that salsa?
2 tomatoes, about 11 oz
4 serrano peppers
5 medium cloves of garlic, unpeeled (garlics are getting HUGE, use normal ones)
1/4 of a medium red onion (use any onion, I had a red one already started)
a big ol’ hank of cilantro, chopped (about 1/4 cup after chopping)
OPTIONAL: lime juice, lime zest
1/2 tsp salt, then to taste
Blacken the vegetables, either on a dry comal, a dry skillet, under the broiler, or over charcoal. (Be careful with the garlic, if it burns toss it and start again. To be safe, you can pierce the skin and microwave it for 30 seconds.) peel the garlic, then mash everything together in a molcajete, blender, or food processor. If blending or processing, just pulse it, so you don’t add a lot of air. If using a molcajete, start with the salt, garlic, and cilantro. Then add the onions and serranos. Last, the tomatoes.
It goes really well with eggs, as well as just about anything else salsa is good on.
What happened was, I got salsa, and it tastes really good.
Almost every tomato based sauce recipe I come across says to use Roma tomatoes. I say, bollocks. Grocery store Romas suck.
I say: taste trumps texture, every time. There is no reason whatsoever to compromise taste for texture. You can fix texture if you don’t like it, but once you got that mealy crap all mashed up and you’re wondering, “Should I add some sugar? A shake of vinegar? Salt? Oh, well. Once I add the [cumin, garlic, onions, pepper, oregano, basil, whatever] the tomatoes are just a base anyhow,” you’re screwed. Your sauce is going to taste like the tomatoes you started with no matter what. I say, bull hockey on that. This is dinner at home, not Angeline by Michael Simon. Give me delicious spaghetti with some water on the plate.
Use the best tasting tomatoes you can find. Don't worry about squeezing the seeds out; that jelly is flavor! Will my salsa be watery? I dunno, look at mine and tell me what you think. Those yellow tomatoes were yellow globes, high jelly, not yellow beefsteaks, high flesh. They were pretty watery while I was mashing them. I was actually thinking, “Uh-oh. This might be where the limit is.” But it wasn’t.
Regular grocery store tomatoes, and their beefsteaks, also usually suck, but you know what’s been pretty good for me the last couple years? “Tomatoes on the vine”. I buy them a little underripe, and leave them on the windowsill for about a week. Your stores might be different, though. Wegman’s have their own greenhouses. Now that summer is here, heirlooms are good again (winter heirloom tomatoes are as bad as Romas, at 3x the price.)
Of course, if you can get delicious Romas, or if you grow them, use them. When I find them, I’ll make sure I keep it a secret.
Whats in that salsa?
2 tomatoes, about 11 oz
4 serrano peppers
5 medium cloves of garlic, unpeeled (garlics are getting HUGE, use normal ones)
1/4 of a medium red onion (use any onion, I had a red one already started)
a big ol’ hank of cilantro, chopped (about 1/4 cup after chopping)
OPTIONAL: lime juice, lime zest
1/2 tsp salt, then to taste
Blacken the vegetables, either on a dry comal, a dry skillet, under the broiler, or over charcoal. (Be careful with the garlic, if it burns toss it and start again. To be safe, you can pierce the skin and microwave it for 30 seconds.) peel the garlic, then mash everything together in a molcajete, blender, or food processor. If blending or processing, just pulse it, so you don’t add a lot of air. If using a molcajete, start with the salt, garlic, and cilantro. Then add the onions and serranos. Last, the tomatoes.
It goes really well with eggs, as well as just about anything else salsa is good on.
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