Fresh Tomato Salsa

If you've been following along on Instagram, you'll perhaps remember the 12 lbs of heirloom tomatoes that I snagged at the farmer's market for FREE!!

Yes, free! This particular purveyor was sorting through tomatoes and it looked for all the world like he was sorting and tossing them out! When I asked him about it, he said yes, he was throwing out the ones he deemed "unsellable" and decrying the amount of waste that goes into selling tomatoes at the farmer's market. Whaaaat??? I immediately volunteered to help him with his "waste" problem by taking the "unsellable" ones off his hands. He happily obliged by dumping the entire box into my bag. Now I ask you... do those look like throw-aways? Seriously.

This was nothing short of Christmas in July for me and I soon had a pot of marinara sauce bubbling away on the stove, a pan of tomatoes slow roasting in garlic and olive oil and a big bowl of fresh tomato salsa ready for dippage. It was all incredibly delicious, but heavenly days, that salsa. We can't seem to get enough of it, so I was compelled to get this recipe to you while fresh tomatoes are still in abundance.

If you're chips and salsa kind of people, I exhort you to ditch the jar (even if just for the summer months) to find yourself some beautiful fresh tomatoes and get this salsa made. Your chips will never taste so good. Here's the recipe...

I've intentionally not made this a super spicy salsa. If you prefer it to set your hair on fire, add more chipotles to your desired heat level. Also, you may not need the sugar, but it's there if you feel you need to balance the acidity in the tomatoes. The bottled hot sauce is there just to round out the flavors and add a bit of umami. Don't leave it out. :)

Click here for a printable recipe

2 pounds vine-ripened red and/or orange tomatoes (about 5 medium)
1 chipotle in adobo, chopped
1/4 medium onion (preferably white), roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sugar (see headnote)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot (or your favorite hot sauce)

Slice the tomatoes in half across the equator and squeeze out the seeds. Core them and roughly chop and then place them in the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients.

Pulse until you feel it's a good consistency. Taste for salt and heat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.