Much Ado About Salsa

I know what you’re thinking, salsa is already vegan so why do we need a whole post about it. Right?

Wrong.

Salsa is vegan but it is so much more than that. It is the perfect snack for people in search of low calorie alternatives to chips, chocolate and other junk food. It’s a great source of beta carotene thanks to the tomatoes, and it’s a great way to impress the hordes who prefer the jarred ~~crap~~, er salsa.

This won’t be a long post because there isn’t that much to be said about salsa, so let’s jump right into it.

A good salsa recipe starts with the right ingredients.

For this salsa I went mostly basic but once you have a base salsa, you can change things up and see how different ingredients change the flavor. Here is a base list of ingredients:

Tomatoes
Limes
Onion
Parsley
Oregano
Chili peppers
Garlic
Cumin
Hot sauce (couple drops)

I used lemons this time around mostly because the limes were too hard and needed a few more days to ripen but typically lime is the way to go in my opinion. You’ll also notice a distinct lack of cilantro and that’s because I’m one of those people who can’t abide it. I won’t try it anymore and I don’t add it to my salsa so…that. But parsley is a great substitute if you’re part of the population who simply can’t do cilantro. I prefer jalapenos because I think they provide great flavor with just enough heat that I won’t burn off my husband’s mouth but sometimes I go a little crazy and use habaneros or Thai chili peppers. For the onions, try red or white or yellow, or even scallions.

Sometimes, like Cinco de Mayo or Wednesday, I’ll add a half shot of tequila mixed with the lime juice for a grown up salsa that is super delicious.

You can choose to hand chop your ingredients for a more rustic style salsa but I just don’t have the time or patience so I refer to my handy food processor/chopper. But there is a method to my madness. I prefer to pulse the tomatoes until they are manageable and then add the rest of the remaining ingredients.

So…how is this vegan?

Simple, it just is. But there are some people out there who add things like grated cheese to flavor it or other ingredients that might have animal products in it that you don’t know about such as some jarred lime juice brands.

You should be able to taste all the ingredients in every bite.