Spicy Tomato Salsa

It’s spicy tomato salsa time! Dried chili peppers, fresh jalapeno peppers and hot pepper flakes add multidimensional spice to this simple spicy tomato salsa. The overall color scheme is red, but the jalapenos accent with a burst of deep green.

This year we had to pick all our tomatoes a little earlier due to the crazy windstorm we had. We were able to salvage all the tomatoes that didn’t end up on the ground. While we were at it, we clipped most of the leaves off the plants to get the remaining green tomatoes to ripen quicker, this really does work!

We like to can our salsa so we can enjoy it all year long. You can freeze it too if you want, but then that just takes up precious freezer space. We also double the original recipe because as long as we already have the mess and all the canning stuff out, why not make double! It’s just about enough to last all year too! We’ll provide the single recipe below, obviously you can double it if you’d like 🙂 The approximate amounts next to the ingredients are for shopping guidelines only, you must measure each ingredient exactly for proper canning results. We like to do a combo of pint and 8oz jars.

Make about six pint (500mL) jars and four 8-ounce (250 mL) jars

Ingredients:

• 9 dried chili peppers (see tip below)
• Hot water
• 12 cups tomatoes, peeled, cored, diced & drained (approximately 36 – 48 tomatoes)
• 3 cups red onions, chopped (approximately 1 1/2 onions)
• 1 1/2 cups cilantro, finely chopped & tightly packed (approximately 2 bunches)
• 15 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 6 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

Directions:

1. In a heatproof glass or stainless steel bowl, combine dried chilies with hot water to cover. Weigh chilies down with a bowl or a weight to ensure they remain submerged, and soak until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain off half the water. Transfer chilies and remaining water to a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree until smooth.
2. Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids. (for more information see below)
3. In a large stainless steel, thick bottomed saucepan, combine chili puree and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
4. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch (1cm) headspace. Remove air bubble and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot salsa. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
5. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process both 8-ounce and pint jars for 15 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

TIPS:

Any dried chili can be used in this recipe, but you’ll get the best results if you choose one with the heat level you prefer. Mild chilies such as New Mexico, ancho or cascabel (also know as guajillo chilies) can be used. If you like more heat, you can use chipotle, cayenne or dried habanero chilies.

Also, if you want a more mild salsa you can remove the seeds and veins from the jalapenos.

We like to drain our tomatoes after we’ve chopped them. This makes the salsa much less watery. This recipe produced 64 ounces of drained liquid. We used all this tomato juice in other recipes as a substitute for water or boiled it down almost to a sauce consistency to use in a taco or pasta dish.

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Prepare canner, jars & lids:

1. Bring canner water to a boil.
2. Be sure the jars and screw bands are clean. Discard any jars that have nicks, cracks, uneven rim surfaces or other damage or defects.
3. Heat the jars: Place a rack in the bottom of the boiling-water canner, then place the required number of jars on the rack. Keep jars hot until you’re ready to use them.
4. Prepare the closures: Set screw bands aside – they do not require heating or sterilizing. Place lids – the flat, round portion of the two-piece closures – in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil. Keep lids hot until you’re ready to use them.

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Supplies:

For your convenience we’ve added Amazon links for the canning supplies necessary to can your salsa. We promise the links are safe, we set them up through the Amazon Associate program which helps us to earn a small amount from each qualifying purchase. We did not add links for the jars or lids as those are typically a LOT cheaper if you can find them on sale at your local grocery or feed store. Buying the lids separately is only necessary if you are re-using your jars. Thank you for your support and happy canning!

Recipe adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving