When my youngest step-son requested a Mexican meal for his birthday dinner, I decided to experiment with some old favourites. I urge everyone to understand that “Mexican” to an average American pretty much entails any recipe involving cheese and a tortilla, so I hardly consider my style to be authentic in any way. Like I tell the boys: were I cooking true Mexican food for them, they wouldn’t be able to cope with the heat. Hence I’ll just stick with the good fall back of “Southwestern style” cooking, as I think that’s probably a more appropriate title for the type of food I would generally categorise as “Mexican.”
Along with enchiladas (“my favourite thing you do,” as said by my eldest step-son), I decided to make some accompanying sides. Rather than the mild, flavourless store-bought salsas, I decided to experiment with my own tomato-based goodness. I made this the day before, so it had a good 24 hours to sit and let the flavours infuse. On the day it was a hit, and I’ll certainly be making it to accompany future “Mexican” meals.
Balsamic Smoked Tomato Salsa
- Directions/Method
- Chop up the ingredients and throw them together. I used a fairly generous amount of coriander, but that’s up to you. Try experimenting with the amounts of both onion and garlic to attain your perfect salsa-riffic texture and flavour.
- If you have time, cover the salsa and plop it in the fridge for several hours (as mentioned, I left mine for an entire day). It isn’t, however, going to ruin your salsa if you don’t have time to leave it forever. Just remember that strong elements like the garlic may be overpowering if served immediately, so perhaps eliminate this ingredient if you don’t have time to let it sit for an hour or two?
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