I like keeping chips and salsa at work for snacking, but on my most recent trip to the grocery store they were out of my usual brand of salsa. “Self,” said I, “take a chance on something new! Be adventurous!” So I did.
And I regret it.
New Salsa has, for something labeled “medium,” not much heat. It’s disappointingly bland and mild even for a gringo(a) like me. It does, however, feature giant honkin’ chunks of vegetables; if I make an “OK” symbol some of the chunks are as big as the space I define with my thumb and forefinger. (How many Dopers just did that and then glanced down at their hand?) I don’t want to just chuck an almost-full jar of salsa, so I’ve decided I’ll take it home and rehabilitate it, Cesar Milan-style.
Clearly, it’s going into a food processor to break down the biggest pieces. What else should I do? If I sprinkle in some red pepper flakes, will the heat incorporate, or will it just have little spicy bombs in an otherwise-bland background? (Should I give it a day or two to sit if I do this?) Anything else I should add to make it delicious? Any Dopers done this themselves before?
P.S. Please, don’t tell me to make homemade salsa instead. For one, I know how, and for another, it’s the middle of winter and tomatoes are not ezzactly at their best, so premade jarred stuff is at least as good as what I’m able to make at home right now.
Red pepper flakes would be a good addition. So would pickled jalapeno slices. I’d also toss in some more diced onion, some more garlic (they never use enough), some cilantro and a healthy squeeze of lime juice. Then run it through the food processor for a few whirls.
This, but I’d use a liquid hot sauce instead of red pepper flakes for more even distribution of the hot. Tabasco or whatever you have lying around would work fine. Barring that, powdered cayenne would be a good bet as well. I just think the pepper flakes would be the aforementioned spice bombs in an otherwise bland sauce.
If you’re going to put all that stuff in (unless you already have it in your refrigerator), you might as well just buy a new, better jar of salsa. A bunch of cilantro in the produce section costs almost as much as a jar of store brand red stuff.
I just want to report that I bought a 16 oz jar of Rite Aid’s store gourmet brand “Savory Collection” salsa, for one dollar, and it isn’t bad. I am sure it was on sale, but still.
Everything but the cilantro is in my fridge. But I have cilantro cubed and bagged in the freezer as well. You just have to buy when the stuff’s on sale.
Wow. It’s like 33 or 50 cents a bunch here. And limes are like 10 for a buck. The joy of living in a Mexican neighborhood.
Anyhow, I’d buy some fresh serranos or habaneros (depending on what level and flavor of heat I’m going for), mince them finely, and throw them in the salsa. And probably add a squeeze of lime, too.
I won’t tell you to make homemade salsa, but a good brand of canned tomatoes works really well. Muir Glen Fire-Roasted being my choice for homemade salsa.
“Cubed”. Yeah, I could have been clearer about that. What I mean is “I have diced cliantro that has been measured into ice cube trays, covered with water, and frozen.” We do that with cilantro, basil, and a few other herbs. That way you always have “fresh” herbage to add to sauces and the like.
What you need is some hot sauce and Velveeta. American or cheddar or that white Mexican cheese will also do, but Velveeta is actually better at melting than real cheese. Dice or shred the cheese or Velveeta, add a little hot sauce, and the salsa. Nuke until the cheese or Velveeta melts evenly. Taste for heat, adjust if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips or warm flour tortillas.
purple basically is making salsa here, just using a crummier tomato base with a few things in it (not that salvaging something already paid for isn’t worthwhile).
But if the rest of the fresh ingredients are already on hand, this would be the thing to buy, to go ahead and make the next batch. It’ll easily beat most storebought prepared stuff.
Not telling you to make homemade, but I did want to say in response to this: You should used canned. For salsa and pasta sauces, canned tomatoes are almost always better than fresh tomatoes in almost any season in almost any region.
I came to this conclusion myself several years ago, and have since seen it confirmed by people who would know what they were talking about. Which people? Don’t remember, but it happened.
