Salsa Granjera: A Recipe from De La Mesa Farms

Just as an artist blends primary colors to yield marigold or turquoise, salsas are sprung from the kind of basic ingredients that are mixed and manipulated in a variety of ways. This artistry is even more impressive when made with farm fresh ingredients. This time of year, tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, onions and herbs are in bountiful quantities on our farm. This salsa calls for the best from our farm, charred on a hot cast iron and then blended together for dazzling vegetal flavor. Use on everything from chicken to roasted squash or just enjoy with a bag of corn tortilla chips. This is #farmtotablesalsa.

Ingredients

– 5 or 6 small- or medium-sized tomatillos (about a 1/2 cup)

– 1 or 2 medium-sized tomato (about a 1/2 cup)

– 1 small fresh onion

– 1-2 fresh mild peppers (shishito, anaheims or other pepper mix)

– 1 dried chile peppers (arbol or piquin)

– 1 small bulb of garlic (5-7 cloves)

– 1/2 cup cilantro, coriander flower, scallion tops and/or chepiche

– 1 tsp kosher salt

– 1 tsp agave syrup (optional)

– 2 tbsp. avocado oil

Directions

1. Add avocado oil to your cast-iron pan and place on medium heat
2. Roughly chop tomatillos, tomatoes and onions. Cut off any stems on the peppers.
3. Add tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, peppers (fresh and dried), and garlic (unpeeled) to the pan. Heat through until charred on all sides.
4. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, roughly chop your herbs and peel garlic.
5. Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. Taste to see if you need more salt or some sweetness (with the agave syrup).

This blog was originally published by De La Mesa Farms on August 21, 2021, and is republished here with permission.