Love this mild salsa

LOVE THIS MILD SALSA 
Easy recipe, delicious results.

By Lisa Boykin Batts Times Life Editor 


I’ve never liked salsa. Not at all. In fact, when my husband puts salsa on his eggs, I usually go to the other room! 

My daughter enjoys salsa, just like her dad. She had enjoyed a homemade recipe at her boyfriend’s house, and over the last few months has been making her own as well. Anna experimented several times until she came up with a recipe she really likes. And, here’s the kicker, I like it too! 

Anna’s salsa is a combination of canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, an assortment of bell peppers and sweet onion. The only other ingredients are vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. This is a mild salsa and doesn’t contain garlic, chilies or cilantro. I think those ingredients are the ones that most offend me in commercial salsas. 

When Anna makes her salsa, the house smells wonderful as the ingredients simmer for at least 45 minutes. 

There’s nothing complicated about this recipe. If you have a food processor or food chopper, it’s very simple to make. We have a small chopper, and it works just right for this recipe. 

On Sunday, while she worked on a sewing project, her dad and I made the salsa. It only takes a few minutes to put together, and we did it with no problem. 

Once the ingredients had simmered for 20 minutes or so, we spooned a little salsa in a small bowl to cool. Then we tasted it so we could adjust the seasonings. We ended up adding a little more vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Each batch you make will be a little different because the peppers will be a different size and have a different flavor each time. That’s our experience, at least. 

We love keeping bowls of salsa in our refrigerator and eat it with tortilla chips for snack, or even a light lunch. 

My next goal is to incorporate the salsa in to some recipes. I have to be fast, though, before it’s all eaten! 

Anna’s Mild Salsa 

4 15 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes 

1 green bell pepper 

1 red bell pepper 

1 yellow or orange bell pepper (I used a combination last time) 

1 sweet onion 

1 teaspoon salt or to taste 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste

1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar 
8 oz. tomato sauce
Pour tomatoes into large pot and start cooking on low heat. 

Cut peppers and onions into large chunks and chop, in batches, in chopper or food processor until fine. Add to to- 

matoes. 

Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes until thickened and 

cooked through. 

After the peppers and onions start to soften, taste a cooled sample of salsa and adjust seasonings accordingly. 

Anna Batts 

lisa@wilsontimes.com | 265-7810