We're not sure when the salsa craze really "heated up", but statistics show that sales of salsa have left ketchup in the dust. The varieties (and ingredients) are endless and we enjoy trying out new combinations. Our long time favorite (called Hot Salsa) was sold for many years by Williams-Sonoma. Once we moved to Charleston, we would call their St. Louis store to order it. Fortunately, the people who worked there realized how much we enjoyed the salsa and when Williams-Sonoma decided to discontinue the line, they gave us a call. We have just reached the end of our three case shipment. Meanwhile, many of our friends have introduced us to new products by supplying us with gifts of salsa.
Although it's easy to find a wide range of bottled salsas, trying a few recipes while all the ingredients are readily available is worthwhile. Our biggest problem in adjusting most salsa recipes is dealing with the raw onions. We don't care for the taste of onions unless they are cooked so in each instance, we saute the onions prior to adding them to any recipe calling for uncooked onions.
If you decide against making your own sauces and don't have time to get to a store, you can order almost anything from http://www.salsasetc.com.
From "Bon Appetit" July 1995
Ingredients:
Cook corn in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender (about 3 minutes). Drain and cool. Cut corn kernels from cob. Combine the corn kernels, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, onion and red bell pepper in a large bowl. (Vegetables can be prepared 8 hours ahead and refrigerated.)
Whisk the oil, vinegar, lime juice, oregano, garlic, cumin, chili powder and hot pepper sauce in a medium bowl to blend. Drain any liquid from the vegetables. Add dressing to vegetables and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature one hour before serving.
From Red Hot Peppers, Jean Andrews (Macmillan 1993)
Ingredients:
Cook the serranos in a black iron skillet over medium-high heat until blackened. Remove about half of the blackened skin, then chop fine. Mix together with the remaining ingredients. Let stand for one hour. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
From Lee Bailey's Long Weekends (Clarkson Potter 1994)
Ingredients:
Combine corn, butter and milk in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 2 minutes. Set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor and chop to a coarse consistency. Stir into the corn mixture. May be served warm or at room temperature. This should not be made too far in advance.
From "Food & Wine", June 1996
Ingredients:
In a bowl, combine the black beans, mango, red bell pepper, jalapeno and scallion. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, oil, vinegar, ginger, sugar, salt and cayenne. Stir in the cilantro and serve chilled or at room temperature. (To make ahead, refrigerate for up to 6 hours before adding cilantro.)
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