fresh salsa you’ll love

i can’t claim this recipe as my own. i tasted a salsa made by my former co-worker’s wife, asked a few questions and then went from there. her tip was to think of the colors on the flag of mexico when remembering ingredients. i don’t recall her exact ingredients, but here’s what it’s evolved to since then:

ingredients

• ½ red onion
• 2 large tomatoes (or the equivalent of smaller tomatoes. roma tomatoes work well for example.)
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 - 2 limes
• 1 - 3 jalapeños depending on spice desire (1 will make mild/medium)
• 1 - 3 canned chipotle peppers (optional, and also in place of jalapeños for slightly sweeter spice. 1 pepper, when not combined with jalapeños, will make mild)
• 2 cobs of corn
• 1 mango (optional - creates a sweetness in the salsa)
• 1 small can black beans (optional. doesn’t add much in the way of flavor, but adds protein)
• cilantro (really depends on how much you like, start small and if you forgot to pick it up, not really a game breaker)

preparation

1. boil corn, cool, and cut from cob
2. in a medium size mixing bowl, add ¼ cup water and the juice of one line. segments that fall into the water from the lime add great flavor. use your own digression if you’d like a second lime. or add later once you’ve tasted the result.
3. cut 1 - 3 chipotle peppers into small pieces and add to bowl
4. dice 1 - 3 jalapeños and add to bowl
5. stir and set aside
6. dice tomatoes, avocados, red onion, cilantro and mango. add each to bowl as diced, mixing upon adding each ingredient.
7. drain black beans and add to mixture
8. add corn (typically i perform last to allow to cool as much as possible)
9. serve immediately or chill and serve within 24 hours. longer and the avocado will brown.
10. i never add salt of pepper, as the ingredients stand on their own. salt lovers may disagree.

serving suggestions:

• just salsa and chips. good with scoops or hint of lime chips especially
• my kids will eat it simply as a snack in a bowl without anything else
• topping on tacos
• bake or grill fish or chicken
• flour tortillas
• sour cream
• fresh spinach
• shredded cheese