The time has come. From recent tweets, it seems that everyone is wondering what to do with all the tomatoes.

We’ve made pizza margherita, tomato salads, BLTs, and tomato pies — and still, we have tomatoes. Not enough to venture into canning, but more than enough to make the aforementioned meals many times over. What to do, to continue to utilize the greatness of the ripe garden tomato?  This summer, I’ve been relying heavily on a classic salsa fresca to keep my counters free of over-ripening (and fruit-fly-drawing) bounty.

We didn’t grow jalapenos in our garden, but they’ve been coming in our CSA box — and those boxes have also been supplying us with small, sweet red peppers. The wonderful thing about a fresh salsa is that you can improvise a good deal, adding or substituting based on what you have on-hand, and still have something delicious. The basic necessities are tomatoes, onion (or scallion), garlic, and acid (lime or lemon juice, and/or vinegar). If you have cilantro, a handful is a classic addition — but I usually pass on it and go for the same amount of flat-leaf parsley (heresy in some circles, I know, but I’m one of those people who thinks cilantro tastes a bit like a spoonful of dish soap).

This makes a small amount of salsa — maybe 1 1/2 – 2 cups — so it won’t last long (not even a day in my house).  I’ve been making a batch at lunchtime, and throwing it on top of a simple cheese quesadilla, or simply scooping it up with blue corn chips until I’ve had my fill. It’s so satisfyingly tangy — and the tomatoes are sweet and able to shine in that way they can only do during summer months.

This recipe is adapted from one in Molly Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook (I’ve simplified it a bit, and use jalapenos rather than red pepper flakes for heat).

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Salsa Fresca (fresh tomato salsa)

• 3 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1 very small sweet pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
• 2 Tbsp cilantro or Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (or more to taste)
• 3/4 tsp salt

Toss all ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste, and add more salt or lime juice to taste. Refrigerate unused portion in a covered container for up to 3 days.

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Katy Marquez Carter is a recovering graphic designer. After thirteen years of ad execs, faculty meetings, and freelancing, she decided to close up shop and redirect her creative energy to things edible. A self-taught cook, she now experiments on her family (and anyone else who walks through the door), blogging about the results at Thought for Food: http://katymcarter.com.

Tagged in: jalapenos, salsa fresca, summer recipe, tomatoes