Salsa Fresca (Fresh Salsa in case you need some help)

OK there are prolly as many recipes for salsa as there are Mexican grandmothers, but my base recipe didn't come from one of them, rather the basic idea came from the LA Times somewhere around 1989. Their recipe included a secret ingredient...a splash of acidity from citrus to brighten it up a bit without really changing up the idea of it being simple salsa. It reportedly came from the kitchens of El Torito (A big chain here in the SW) according to my now brown tinged recipe.

It does include cilantro. I use the full amount, 1 cup as my household loves the stuff. If your family isn't a big fan of the green herbage feel free to cut back on it, but don't eliminate as it really is there for flavor.

The other thing that it needs you attention is the use of a jalapeno. I use the red kind, even though they are a bit more expensive, as they have a fuller sweeter flavor than the green kind. By all means swap out the green if that is all you can find, the red is purely my flavor choice.

The other flavor choice comes with the tomatoes. Again you pay a bit more than the usual grocery store stuff, but its worth it. I use the small cherry tomatoes as they are so much more flavorful compared to the regular 'maters in the grocery store. By all means use the large ones if you are growing your own this summer.

This could take FOREVER to do if you don't have a food processor. I can only imagine how long it would take to fine dice all the tomatoes, onions etc.,. By all means break out the machine as you have salsa literally in a few pulses with it.

Salsa Fresca

• 12 oz cherry tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1 red jalapeno
• 1 c cilantro - loosely packed
• 1/4 t salt
• juice of one lemon or lime (I use alternate depending upon if I have a huge crop or not)

Place ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until you have a fine dice.

Serve with chips, in tacos, or where ever, how ever you use salsa.