Localicious Homemade Salsa

Making salsa has become a summer ritual for me--it's a perfect way to preserve those delicious tomatoes that are piling up at farmer's markets, and the flavor combinations are incredibly flexible and open to interpretation. Our hot central Ohio summer has provided us with great peppers as well, and there's really not a better way to make use of them. This year, as I am living without a functioning kitchen, my salsa making happened during the last of a series of canning classes I taught at Oakland Nursery.  Over a dozen folks came out to chop, dice, and put up a dozens of jars of salsa and tomato jam.  Twenty pounds of tomatoes later, everyone went home with a couple of jars of delicious tomato products.  Just for fun, we also did a heirloom tomato taste test, taking advantage of huge variety of colors, flavors and textures available.

Over the years, I've tried and tweaked several salsa recipes, but find myself using one from Mary Anne Dragan's Well Preserved as a base for many of my batches.  Her recipe can be doubled or tripled, and I've added corn and tomato paste to give it a little more heft. I also like to roast my peppers before I add them into the cooking pot, to deepen their flavor and give them a nice char.

• My students did an awesome job chopping everything up, which in this case included over a dozen pounds of tomatoes, a pile of peppers (hot and sweet), two heads of garlic and two big bunches of cilantro.

All the veggies went into the pot, along with the vinegar and lime juice, seasonings and tomato paste. We brought the salsa to a boil then simmered for 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the veggies so that they didn't cook too long and turn grey.

We took the salsa off the heat, added the chopped cilantro and gave everyone a taste to make sure the seasonings were right. Into the hot jars it went, to process for 20 minutes in the canner.  Summer in Ohio, saved for the winter months ahead!

Summer Salsa (adapted from Well Preserved by Mary Anne Dragan)
Makes 5-6 pints

• 8 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups coarsely chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped red and green peppers
• 1/2 cups jalapeño peppers (more or less depending on your preference for heat)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• 
  
• 1. Prepare the preserving jars.
• 2. Combine all ingredients in a large pot (except cilantro) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro.
• 3. Ladle the salsa into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply lids and bands. Process for 20 minutes.