Farmacy And Pickling
Spicy Fermented Salsa: Take Tomatoes to the Next Level
How do you take a salsa that’s already great and push it over the edge to fantastic? With fermentation! Fermented salsa brings all the health benefits of good bacteria to the ripe and juicy summer tomatoes you already love. And, it couldn’t be easier to make!
Ingreadient
- 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 to 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (depending on heat preference)
- 1/2 serrano pepper, minced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon pickling salt or sea salt
- Juice from 1 lime
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Direction
- In a medium bowl, mix the first nine ingredients together (including the seeds and juices from your tomatoes).
- Pour the salsa into a quart-sized jar and run a chopstick around the jar to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Add a 1/2-inch layer of olive oil on top. The olive oil serves two purposes here: one, it prevents the vegetables from rising above the water and growing mold on the surface, and two, it adds richness to the salsa once you mix it in.
- Loosely seal the jar with a lid and leave it out of direct sunlight for a few days. (I spin the lid only a couple times—enough to keep out dust and pantry pests, but loose enough to let fermentation gases escape.)
- The warmer your room temperature is, the faster your salsa will ferment. Within a day or two, you'll start to see fizzies in the juices as the lactic acid bacteria grow and flourish. It may take up to four days for all the ingredients to meld and develop a bold, tangy flavor. You could leave it for up to a week for the tang to intensify; the longer you let it ferment, the longer the salsa will keep.
- Once the salsa's to your liking, refrigerate the jar to slow down the fermentation process (and keep the salsa from getting too sour).
