Dream Salsa

I have a love/hate relationship with canned salsas. I mean, mostly I love any salsa. But when it comes to stockpiling 17 pints in my cupboard, I want to REALLY love the salsa.

And because salsas need to be acidified with vinegar and/or lemon juice in order to be safe for boiling water bath canning, the recipes for canned salsas tend to be either very vinegary tasting or doused with sugar to counteract the vinegar. And you CAN'T just change the vinegar ratio in the recipe, so don't go getting any ideas!

But I've finally found 3 recipes that I really enjoy! The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is filled with tasty sounding salsa recipes, but I can now say for certain that the Tomatillo Salsa, Chipotle Roasted Tomato Salsa and Spicy Tomato Salsa are all stellar.

On the left is the chipotle salsa- it includes pureed dried chiles and roasted tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic. The spicy tomato salsa is on the right. It has 3 layers of heat: pureed ancho chiles, fresh jalapenos and red chile flakes.

Here they are! We had a bit of extra salsa from each batch that wouldn't fit into the jars- Darn! We were forced to have a salsa smorgasbord that night :)

I really want to share the Spicy Tomato Salsa recipe with you all. I think Ball won't mind since it will surely convince all of you to go out and buy this cookbook, but I'll take it down if they want me to.

Spicy Tomato Salsa from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Makes 6 pint jars

9 dried chili peppers (I used Anchos)

Hot water

12 cups diced, cored, peeled tomatoes

3 cups chopped red onions

1 1/2 cup tightly packed finely chopped cilantro

15 cloves garlic, finely chopped

6 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

3/4 cup red wine vinegar (5% acidity)

1 Tbsp. salt

3/4 tsp. hot pepper flakes

1. Combine dried chili peppers with hot water to cover. Weigh chilies down to ensure they are submerged and soak about 15 min or until softened. Drain off 1/2 the water and puree in a blender or food processor.

2. Meanwhile, prepare boiling water bath canner, jars, and lids. (www.uga.com/nchfp is good for instructions)

3. In a saucepan combine chili puree, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic, jalapenos, vinegar, salt, and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat an boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 10 min.

4. Ladle hot salsa into hot, clean jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot salsa. Wipe rim of jars clean. Center warmed lid on jar and screw bad down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

5. Place jars in canner, ensuring hey are completely covered with water by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil and process jars for 15 minutes. Remove caner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.