Recipe - Cafe Pasquals Salsa Fresca

10 ounce Italian Plum tomatoes;
about 5
One fourth White onion
One half Fresh Serrano or Jalapeno
chile; stem, seed, & mince
One fourth cup Fresh cilantro leaves;
chopped
One fourth teaspoon Salt; or to taste
1 pn (small) ground cumin;
optional

Garry Howard garhow@hpubmaa.esr.hp.com

Recipe By: Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook by Katharine Kagel

Cafe Pasqual's is a well known restaurant in Santa Fe, NM and one of my
favorites. I think I would use a little more chiles.

In American culinary history, 1992 will be remembered as the year salsa
outsold catsup to become the nation's number one condiment. That's terrific
news to me because it's a healthy step away from the role of sugar as a
palate pleaser into the fascinating world of chile flavors.

Every morning at Cafe Pasqual's we prepare by hand four gallons of this
essential salsa. We serve it as an accompaniment to our breakfast and lunch
quesadillas. It is full of fresh flavor, has crunch, and the "heat" can be
easily be turned up or down. We use vineripened tomatoes at the height of
summer when they are plentiful. Otherwise, Italian plum (Roma) tomatoes are
available yearround and are superior to other commercial tomatoes.

Always make salsa by hand using a good sharp knife. A machine reduces the
ingredients to a mushy liquid and, at that point, you might as well buy a
jar of commercial salsa.

Chop the tomatoes by hand. To create a perfect 1/8inch dice, slice off the
stem end and stand the tomato on its nowflat surface. Slice straight down
to make 1/8inchwide slabs. Turn the cut tomato as a unit and cut across
the tomato in 1/8inch increments, creating a dice. Cut the reserved slice
into dice as well. Put the minced tomatoes into a nonreactive bowl.

Cut the onion in the samesize dice as the tomatoes and put in the bowl
with the tomatoes.

Add the chile and cilantro. Add the salt and a very small amount of cumin,
if you like. Stir well. Makes about 2 cups.

Note: Because the piquant qualities of onions and chiles vary, you man need
to adjust one or the other of these ingredients to taste. Serve the salsa
at room temperature within a few hours of preparing it. It does not store
well, the tomatoes and onion become soft and the flavors dissipate.

CHILEHEADS ARCHIVES

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