I’ve never made salsa myself at home but bought a ton of tomatoes, vidalias, cilantro and lime and plan to make some tonight. I can certainly run out and get some more “stuff” if needed before making it as well.
Only problem being that I don’t have a recipe :smack:. There are approximately eight billion results if I use the Googles but I’d rather have some doper-infused wisdom.
Man, just start chopping. Fresh tomato salsa doesn’t need a whole lot to make it ridiculously delicious. Be sure to add some minced garlic, a lot of chopped jalapenos (I buy it jarred because I like chopping everything else by hand), and a bit of salt to bring out the tangy lime. If you can manage, let it sit overnight in the fridge to allow all the flavors to coalesce. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.
I’ve made plenty of salsa, but never really keep track of a recipe. I make one salsa using fresh lime juice, smoked salmon (minced) and fennel (minced) along with onions/garlic/peppers.
My wife says the secret to any homemade salsa is garlic. Lots of it.
I also agree with : just start chopping.
Grab some chilli’s the more diverse the better. You can even used dried. Make sure you use enough salt. Black pepper is often forgotten and any herbs you think are nice. Taste re-season , taste again.
Meflin
My wife makes some awesome mango salsa that is stupidly good. It’s essentially mango, onion, and cillantro, but that kind of defeats your want to use tomatoes.
And I’ll add my vote to the “let it sit in a fridge and let the flavors coallesce” group.
Chop up a bunch of tomato. Hopefully you got good ones. Dump in a bowl and salt&pepper them fairly good.
Chop up about the same amount of onion. I’ve never used vidalias, they might be a bit sweet, but that’s ok. Mix in with the tomato.
Do the proportions look right? If not, add more of one or the other. Don’t get carried away or you’ll have salsa for the hordes.
Now mince/press/spoon-out some garlic. I like garlic, so I use lots, but you’ll need at least a little. I’d imagine garlic powder will work in a pinch.
Mince some jalepenos or serranos and add those. Again, to taste, depending on how hot the peppers are and how hot you like it.
I don’t generally add citrus to mine, but I’d say some lime juice wouldn’t hurt any.
And lots of cilantro at the end. And more salt & pepper, if needed.
Let it sit and grow up for a while and you’ve got salsa, yum!
Let the flavors meld? Fuck that. A good salsa fresca is like good guac: serve immediately.
Chopped tomatoes, chopped onions (Vidalia won’t do; get some yellow or red ones), chopped garlic, chopped jalapenos, chopped garlic, chopped serranos or pablanos (optional, but I usually have them fresh from the garden), lime juice, a bit of cliantro, salt and pepper, and for me, a finely diced habanero.
For a variation you could roast those ingredients, over coals and then chop. Also, tomatillo, jalapeno, peaches, and corn on the cob (all roasted) are other ingredients to consider.
No recipe, just make to taste. I like serranos and jalapenos plus the rest you mentioned and garlic. Plus, my bff’s very disheartening ingredient that really does make an awesome pico, Accent a/k/a msg. It really is, unfortunately the missing link that ties it all together.
I’m sorry, but I must advise to ignore the bolded advice. Get carried away! Your friends will love you if you’ve [del]accidentally[/del] purposely made too much salsa for you to enjoy alone.
I’d call that worse than a pinch, not being able to get fresh garlic. Very different end result when you use garlic powder–I wouldn’t do it.
My son turned out some awesomely delicious salsa when he roasted the jalapenos for a few minutes on a George Foreman grill. I don’t know what all spices he used–garlic and black pepper, I know, but there was probably something else, knowing him.
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Intergalactic**, I’m gonna pick up a mango tonight since…I forgot tortilla chips :smack::smack: Huzzah, they’re on sale too!
Wow, thanks everyone for the garlic hint. It would have never crossed my mind.
Do you all really think vidalias won’t work? I can grab a red one with the mango later if it just won’t do. I love the sweeter flavor of vidalias; I figure can eat more salsa that way 
For some reason I’m blanking; should I seed the tomatoes or not?
But since he was right here … Cilantro and a touch of tabasco sauce, he tells me.
Add a little cumin, a bit of rice wine vinegar and a can of drained black beans to that and you’ll swoon.
Here is an HTG recipe…
12 tomatoes, bigger than a baseball
6 jalapeno peppers
12 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 medium onions
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vinegar
Core the tomatoes, cut the stems from the peppers and halve them, and peel the garlic cloves. If you don’t want the salsa to be real hot, now is the time to remove the inner membrane and seed from the pepper halves. Place all on a cooking sheet, and spray everything lightly with the cooking spray. Place sheet in the oven set to broil, and let go for 10-12 minutes, until the skin on the tomatoes chars and starts to peel. Keep an eye on the garlic, because it may burn first.
Peel the tomatoes, and chop them up the way you prefer. I’m lazy so I used a food processor, and I drained the liquid out of the chopped tomatoes to leave pulp only. Chop the peppers, garlic, onion, and cilantro, and add to tomatoes. Add salt and cumin, and adjust for taste. Add the vinegar, too. If you’re going to serve this fresh, stop here. Refrigerate about 2 hours before serving.
I sometimes can mine via water bath. To do this, double the batch above, and prepare as directed, Place salsa in sterilized pint jars, add lids, and immerse completely in boiling water. Boil for 15 minutes, then remove. Let the jars cool, and the lids should indent. If the lid does not seal, refrigerate that jar immediately. The double batch yielded 6 pints.
Vedalias work just fine they make the salsa a bit sweeter. I am not sure I would go with mango AND vidialia’s tho. Keep in mind I have a aversion to sweet in my savory.
Tomato Seeds tend to make this a bit bitter. I have never bothered to seed my tomatoes. If I was adding mango’s on top on sweet onion I wouldn’t even consider advice of de-seeding. YMMV
Meflin
Personally, I prefer red onions. They’re kind of sweet, but have a nice kick to them. Vidalia flavor may just get lost under the cilantro, garlic and jalepeno. I dunno, if I had them, I’d give 'em a try just for academics, if nothing else.
As to the tomatoes, I’ve done it both ways. The unseeded version came out wetter or soupier, while the seeded version was more stew-like and less runny. I like it either way, but it takes slightly more effort to seed the tomatoes.
I will also second the notion to use fresh garlic. It’s so worth it. And cumin gives it a more authentic mexican flavor. For cumin, though, a little goes a long way. My husband says the same for cilantro, but I think he’s high. Fresh cilantro rocks salsa and I will rock out the whole bunch, chopped finely, large stems removed.
That sounds good to me - vidalias, but not with the mango salsa.
I think I like it in-between, so I’m gonna seed half and not seed the other half.
Thanks everyone, will post how it goes 
Damn it, I want fresh homemade salsa now.