Up in Ontario

Salsa From Scratch

Two weeks ago when I made my weekly trip to the local produce shop I found an abundance of large, ripe tomatoes at a low price. The winter crop had just arrived from the vast hothouses that dominate the fields south of Vancouver, where the soil used to sprout crops instead of supporting the beams of transparent barns. The tomatoes were huge and firm. I bought about a dozen and lugged them home, unsure of what I had planned but sure I had made a good purchase.

The tomatoes sat on the countertop for a day to soften. The options I considered for them included spaghetti sauce, lasagna sauce, marinara sauce and tomato soup. Of those, I had made all of them before except tomato soup and I now associate tomato soup with sickness, so I ruled it out. I decided I would make salsa.

In a large stewing pot I warmed some olive oil and grated garlic into the warmed oil. I mashed the garlic so its juice mixed with the oil. I cut 3/4 of the tomatoes into small sections and blended them to a rough coarseness, then added them to the pot. In went chili powder, onion, salt and pepper.

I stirred my soupy salsa and let it come to a slow boil. What else did I have in the fridge? I diced green pepper, red pepper, Italian parsley, dried cumin, cayenne pepper and some chilis that had sat in our fridge for a long time since they were too hot to eat. These I added carefully and in small amounts at a time, tasting the salsa after each chili. The spice level started to rise to a nice level but something savoury was missing. I added red wine, a bay leaf, lime zest and the juice of that same lime. Now we were cooking.

The sauce started to reduce as it simmered but the process took a long time and the hour grew late. I turned the element to its lowest setting, placed the lid on the pot and let it simmer overnight. In the morning I discovered a dark and rich and dense sauce full of flavour. I let the pot cool and placed it in the fridge. That night, I cut the rest of the tomatoes, diced more red peppers, more yellow peppers, more italian parsley, more spices and more onions and added them to the pot. I heated the pot and dipped a chip into the salsa. Delicious. The savoury sauciness of the stewed ingredients contrasted with the crisp brightness of the fresh ingredients. I dipped another chip and called for the Duck to try things out for herself.

I flipped the element off and let the pot cool, instructing the Duck to hold off on devouring the salsa while I headed to the grocery store to buy jars. When I returned I washed the jars and started to fill them with salsa. Now 10 jars sit in our fridge. I've given one jar away already and await feedback from its recipients. Next time, I'll back off on the red wine and pump up the saltiness. If you're looking for measurements on the ingredients above, you'll just have to use your imagination and a big pot, since you can always add more ingredients to balance out anything you might have been overexuberant with.

Anyone want to try some salsa?