Over the years I have tried so many different fresh salsas.  I loved almost all of them.  If I didn’t love them it was probably less because of the recipe and more because the “fresh” veggies in the salsas had traveled thousands of miles and didn’t taste fresh at all!

But salsas made with delicious, sweet, flavourful, local vegetables and fruits have a hard time not tasting good!  So the question I’ve been asking lately is, what is necessary to make an incredible fresh salsa?

Not much, it turns out.  Take a look at what you have available.  No tomatoes?  That’s okay.  No fresh peppers, that’s okay too.  No fresh anything?  Okay, that will be a problem.  So what is essential to a fresh salsa?

Yes, there is overlap between these categories:

1. Some crunchy things, like any of the following, nicely diced in small pieces: onions (any colour), sweet peppers, radishes, cucumbers, apples…
2. Some sweet things, also nicely diced: peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, apples, pears, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, tomatoes, sweet corn…
3. Some fillers, (diced if necessary): black beans, cucumbers, extra tomatoes, fruit…
4. For some spice and zing: hot peppers (diced, or dry crushed red peppers if you don’t have anything fresh), cilantro, lime juice (or local options would be cider vinegar or verjus if you can find it), garlic, a dash of cumin, and salt and pepper.

Classic “Pico de Gallo” salsa will look like this:

• 10-12 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 sweet pepper, diced
• 1-2 hot peppers, minced (or a few teaspoons of crushed red peppers)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ – ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. lime juice or cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• Dash of pepper

A peach salsa might look like this:

• 5-7 peaches, diced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 sweet pepper, diced
• 1-2 hot peppers, minced (or a few teaspoons of crushed red peppers)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ – ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. lime juice or cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• Dash of pepper

A fruit salsa could be:

• 3-5 peaches, diced
• 2-4 plums, diced
• 1-2 apple, diced
• ¼ – ½ melon, diced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 sweet pepper, diced
• 1-2 hot peppers, minced (or a few teaspoons of crushed red peppers)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ – ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. lime juice or cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• Dash of pepper

A “Southwest” salsa is like Pico de Gallo but with beans and corn:

• 8-10 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup cooked black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 cup sweet corn (cooked)
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 sweet pepper, diced
• 1-2 hot peppers, minced (or a few teaspoons of crushed red peppers)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ – ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. lime juice or cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• Dash of pepper

What about cucumber salsa?  This one is great because the mild flavour of cukes is like a blank slate:

• 1-2 cucumbers, diced
• 2-3 cups chopped fruit or tomatoes or combination
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 sweet pepper, diced
• 1-2 hot peppers, minced (or a few teaspoons of crushed red peppers)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ – ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. lime juice or cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• Dash of pepper

For all of these salsas it’s a good idea to play around with the ratios until the salsa looks and tastes the way you want it.  For example, if you aren’t a fan of onions try using less of them or substituting green onions which will hopefully have a milder flavour.  If you like some roasted flavour in your salsa roast some of the veggies.  If you like it sweeter use more fruit (not sugar!).

Make your fresh salsa a few hours before a meal it is intended for and let the flavours combine slowly in the fridge.  Pair it with your favourite taco or burrito recipe or anything you like.  Make sure to get some awesome fresh tortillas from Bailey’s!