Updated August 21, 2002

On November 16, 2001, Bill Wight gave a salsa seminar at the Association's QFest in San Dimas. Below are seven salsa recipes which Bill made at the QFest, which include the black bean salsa recipe that several people asked him to provide. To read an article on "How to Make A Great Salsa" Click here.

Salsa Fresca - Garden Salsa

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, rough chop
1 pound green tomatoes, rough chop - or- 1 pound tomatillos, chop
6 large Anaheim peppers, seeded, deveined,, rough chop
1/2 bunch cilantro, fresh
1 medium white or yellow onion, rough chop
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded, rough chop;  adjust number of hot peppers for desired heat level
2 juice of 2 limes
2 teaspoons salt, (to taste)

Preparation

If using a food processor or salsa maker, add tomatoes first and process/chop being careful not to turn tomatoes into mush.

Add tomatoes to large mixing bowl. Process/chop the onion and peppers separately to about 1/4-inch size pieces and add to bowl.

Hand chop the cilantro with a knife, discard thicker stems and add to mixing bowl.

Mix all ingredients. Remove excess liquid and drink, lots of vitamin C. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

Recipe by Bill Wight.

Note: this salsa is best if made with home-grown tomatoes. You can also add a diced ripe avocado.

Cranberry-Orange Salsa

Ingredients

2 cups dried cranberries
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest, minced
2/3 cup pecans, toasted
4 teaspoons chile powder, red, mild

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a blender jar and puree until smooth.

This salsa is also excellent as a dip with chips or a topping on poultry or pork.

Source: The Great Salsa Book by Mark Charles Miller Page 52
on-line at http://old.cbbqa.org/recipes/Billssalsa.html accessed June 23, 2012

Jicama Salsa (104)

Ingredients

1 small jicama, peeled, grated
8 radishes, diced
3/4 cup cucumber, peeled, diced
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red onion, diced
3/4 teaspoon chile powder
2 teaspoons fresh basil, minced
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix well.

Serve as a dip with chips or on steak or pork as a topping.

Source: The Great Salsa Book by Mark Charles Miller Page 104
on-line at http://old.cbbqa.org/recipes/Billssalsa.html accessed June 23, 2012

Santa Fe Shrimp Salsa

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds baby shrimp, cooked, cleaned
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons ginger root, fresh, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons red bell pepper, minced
2 tablespoons yellow bell pepper, minced
3 tablespoons cucumber, peeled, diced
2 tablespoons basil, fresh, minced
1 tablespoon hot sauce, habanero style
1 teaspoon ginger juice, IN GARLIC PRESS

Preparation

Remove tails of shrimp if still attached.

Heat the oil in a pan and add garlic and ginger and sauté for 2 minutes, until browned.

Add the shrimp and salt and sauté for 2 minutes longer.

Add the orange juice and vinegar and cook for 30 seconds longer while stirring.

Transfer to a glass bowl and add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Makes a great dip for chips or a topping for grilled fish.

Source: The Great Salsa Book by Mark Charles Miller Page 122
on-line at http://old.cbbqa.org/recipes/Billssalsa.html accessed June 23, 2012

Tejas Sunflower Seed Salsa

Ingredients

1 pound tomatillos, blackened*
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1/4 cup grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon grapefruit zest, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt (less if using salted sunflower seeds
1/2 tablespoon cayenne or red chile powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preparation

Slice tomatillos and put into hot cast iron skillet and dry fry until browned on each side.

Place the tomatillos and sun-dried tomatoes in a blender jar and process until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and process until just a little chunky.

Serve as a dip with chips or on poultry or pork.

Source: The Great Salsa Book by Mark Charles Miller Page 116
on-line at http://old.cbbqa.org/recipes/Billssalsa.html accessed June 23, 2012

Black Bean Salsa (Hearon)

Ingredients

1 poblano chile*
2 cans black beans, cooked, rinsed
2 tablespoons pomegranate juice, fresh
1/4 cup bell peppers, red
1/4 cup bell peppers, yellow
2 garlic cloves, roasted, peeled, chopped
1 slice onion, white, 3/4" inch, thick, roasted and chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 tablespoon chiles chipotle en adobo, canned
1/4 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
salt

* stemmed, seeded, diced (roast and peel the poblano)

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in non-reactive bowl.

Toss briefly in sauté pan over medium heat and add salt to taste.

Serve at room temperature.

Scale-up: Can be scaled up in direct proportion.

Source: Adapted from "Salsa" by Reed Hearon 1993. Reprinted in Food Arts Magazine, June 1993, page 82.

Pico De Gallo - Old Mexican Style

Ingredients

3 cans jicama, chopped
2 cans orange, chopped
2 lemons
chile piquin, powdered, to taste
salt, to taste

Preparation

Mix the diced jicama and chopped orange, add the juice from two lemons and salt to taste.

Let it rest for three hours before serving.

Just before serving dust top with powdered chile piquin.

Recipe by Josefina Velazquez De Leon. Mexican Cook Book. 1947

Salsa Recipe Download Section

Would you like more salsa recipes? OK, click here to download a bunch of them in MasterCook export format.

How to Make a Great Salsa by Bill Wight

Want something really mouth-watering? OK, take a nice piece of tri-tip and rub it with some minced garlic, some salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Then smoke or grill the tri-tip to an internal temperature of 145F. Slice the meat about a quarter-inch thick and put a few slices on your plate. Then smother the slices with freshly-made salsa fresca. Now that's a treat that can't be beat.

There's just something special about salsa. We're not talking about store-bought stuff like Pace, but the real McCoy, homemade and best of all, with the ingredients right out of your garden.

What makes up a great salsa anyway? A lot more than just heat, let me tell you. A salsa will be judged on its flavor, texture, color, aroma, appearance, sweetness, acidity and last but not least, its heat. A great salsa will play contrasting flavors against each other, like sweet and sour or sweet and hot.

What do you need to make great salsa? Really not much in the way of equipment, a cutting board, a sharp knife, a salsa maker or a food processor and a food grater.

Tip: Be careful when putting fresh ripe tomatoes in a salsa maker or food processor as it is very easy to turn the tomatoes into mush instead of nice firm chunks. I usually use a 10-inch chef's knife and do the tomatoes by hand.

There are several kinds of salsas, depending on the main ingredient that gives the salsa its character:

1. Salsa frescas, made with fresh and raw tomatoes, onions and peppers, This class of salsa is also known as "salsa cruda" , "pico de gallo" or "Mexican salsa"
2. Fruit salsas, made with fresh, frozen or canned fruits
3. Bean salsas, these contain one or more kinds of cooked beans
4. Corn and vegetable salsas, made with fresh, frozen or canned vegetables, either raw or cooked
5. Nut salsas, made with various kinds of cooked nuts or seeds
6. Meat or Seafood salsas, made with beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp or scallops

OK, let's list a few tips for making a great salsa:

The best salsa is made with the freshest ingredients. When I make salsa fresca from the tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro from my garden, I can really tell the difference over store-bought ingredients. There is no comparison. And the stuff you buy ready-made at the store, forget it.

Always use fresh (less than six months old) spices and herbs or better yet, use the herbs from your garden.

Don't scrimp on oils and vinegars, buy the good stuff and you'll be able to taste the difference.

If you can find it, use the raw sugars instead of that white stuff you put in your coffee. Turbinado or jaggery or palm are good choices. Our Southern California Mexican markets have a raw Mexican sugar that comes in short cone shapes.

When you cut or chop the ingredients for a salsa, make all the ingredients approximately the same size. You don't what the onions in half-inch pieces and the tomatoes in quarter-inch pieces.

Unless you're going to can your batch of salsa, serve it while it's fresh. Don't let it sit around in the refrigerator for several days before you serve it.

Use the color of the salsa's ingredients to create a visual work of edible art. There is not much in the world of food that is more beautiful than a large glass bowl filled with salsa fresca made with red, yellow, green and orange tomatoes and red, yellow and green peppers, white onions and dark green cilantro.

You can completely change the character of a salsa by first roasting the ingredients.  If you are going to make a salsa fresca, instead of chopping the tomatoes and onions, slice them into 1/4-inch rounds.  Cut the peppers into slices 2-3 inches long.  Take a large cast iron skillet and heat it very hot.   Leave the skillet dry and toss in a few of the tomato slices at a time and let them brown on one side.  Turn them over and do the same to the other side.  Roast the onion and peppers slices the same way.  Just remember to do a few at a time so no liquid accumulates in the skillet.  We want to roast the vegetables, not sauté them.  Now chop all the vegetables and make the salsa.  This version of salsa fresca will have a completely different personality than a salsa fresca made with unroasted vegetables.

Make your favorite salsa and drain all the liquids from it.   Now add some dark Mexican beer to the salsa.  You have now made a "salsa borracho" or drunken salsa.  You can also add fruit juices (try cranberry), wine and liquors like tequila, vodka and gin to give your salsa a new personality.  Don't go overboard on the booze, or you'll be a "borracho" salsa eater!.

Experiment with different kinds of peppers in your salsa.  Try as many of the fresh varieties as are available in your area, like using poblano peppers instead of Anaheims.

Adding a smoked chipotle, either dried or canned in adobo sauce will give your salsa fresca a whole new flavor.  

When I make up a batch of salsa, it is often a little difficult to get the heat level just right for everyone.  What I have learned to do when I make salsa for a group of friends, is to make the main batch of salsa very mild.  Then I take some hotter peppers, like serrano or habanero and mince them and put them in a separate dish.   This way, the non-chile-heads present can enjoy a mild salsa, and the chile-heads can add some of the minced hot peppers and sweat all they want.

Salsa Ingredients

And don't forget, as a snack, serve your salsa with tortilla chips. I find the restaurant-style are the best. Better still is to make your own chips from fresh tortillas and deep fry them in vegetable oil.  Don't get them too brown, but take them out of the hot oil and onto paper towels to drain when they first get a hint of browness.

Here are a few of my favorite salsa recipes:

Black Bean Salsa (Hearon)

* stemmed, seeded, roasted, peeled and then diced

** I use lime juice or cranberry juice as substitute

Combine all ingredients in non-reactive bowl; toss briefly in sauté pan over medium heat; salt to taste.

Serve at room temperature.

Source: Adapted from "Salsa" by Reed Hearon 1993. Reprinted in Food Arts Magazine, June 1993, page 82

Bill's Salsa Fresca

If using a food processor or salsa maker, add vegetables and chop/process until in 1/4" pieces. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix in lime juice and salt to taste.

* If Hungarian wax peppers are not available. use any yellow pepper

* Adjust the number of jalapeno or serrano peppers to your heat level

Source: Bill Wight

Mango-Lime Salsa