Lisa Fain can teach you how to make the best versions of traditional Texan dishes in your own kitchen. Her repertoire includes simple yet delicious recipes for carnitas, kolaches, and chicken-fried steak, as well as breakfast tacos, frito pie, and peach buttermilk ice cream. Fain has published two cookbooks full of amazing dishes (including mouth-watering buttermilk and bacon fat flour tortillas), but my personal favorite is a three-ingredient recipe that can be used on anything and is highly addictive.
Google provides access to at least 3.8 million variations of “perfect homemade salsa,” the spicy red stuff that we devoured two jars of per week when I was in college. However, I find most of these recipes to be overly complex, with nearly a dozen ingredients that span from sugar to cumin or require very specific tomato brands such as Ro-Tel, which are difficult to come by outside of Texas or well-stocked bodegas in NYC. Fain’s recipe dismisses all of this complexity by instructing readers to simply head to the market when there is an abundance of tomatoes, place them halved on a tray alongside some garlic cloves and jalapenos, broil them until charred, blend them until reaching the desired texture, and never look back when it comes to salsa consumption.
Naturally, you can incorporate any additional ingredients that suit your fancy — personally, I find it impossible to resist caramelizing half a white onion and finishing it off with a spritz of lime juice. Fain, on the other hand, divulges that she occasionally throws in some canned chipotle and/or cilantro. I learned this firsthand when I bumped into her at the Greenmarket last Friday. While my primary objective was to purchase tomatoes, jalape?os, and garlic for this salsa, I couldn’t pass up the chance to grill her for more details about her recipe. Okay, maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic, but can you blame me? Don’t answer that. If you decide to prepare this salsa at home, please share with me any modifications you make, as well as what you pair it with. (Personally, I recommend eggs, always and forever.)
One year prior: Burnt Corn Pancakes
Two years prior: Burnt Pepper Steak Dressing
Three years prior: Hazelnut Plum Crumb Cake
Four years prior: Summer Succotash with Bacon and Croutons (if you thought you didn’t like succotash, I think this could make you a believer)
Rewritten:
Cantaloupe Salsa was featured five years ago, followed by Garlic Mustard Glazed Skewers six years ago and Zucchini Bread seven years ago. Now, inspired by Lisa Fain’s recipe, Cup of Jo presents a Three-Ingredient Summertime Salsa that can be made by charring fresh tomatoes, white onion, and jalape?os either under the oven’s broiler or on a grill. The charring process adds a complexity of flavor that cannot be matched by jarred salsas. Adding a spoonful of chipotle or fresh cilantro would make it even more delicious, but be sure to try the jalape?os first to gauge their heat level. Finally, don’t forget to season the salsa well and finish it with a splash of lime juice. If you’re like the author’s husband, you might need five jalape?os, but start with one and go from there!
Yield: Approximately 1 1/2 cups of salsa
Ingredients:
– 1 pound of plum or Roma tomatoes, halved with stems removed
– 1 or 2 jalape?os (depending on desired spiciness), halved with stems removed
– 2 cloves of peeled garlic
– Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat your broiler and position a rack 5 inches below the heating element. Cover a skillet or baking sheet with foil, and add the tomatoes, halved jalape?o, and garlic. Season with salt. Broil for around 5 minutes (adjusting for broiler strength), or until the jalape?o and garlic are slightly charred. Transfer the jalape?o and garlic to a blender, leaving the tomatoes in the skillet.
While the skillet is still hot, put it back in the oven and broil the tomatoes for an additional 5 minutes until the top is browned. Take out the tomatoes from the oven and transfer them, along with any juices from the skillet, into a blender. Pulse the mixture at a low speed until the desired texture is achieved, adding around 2 tablespoons of water to loosen it up. For a thinner salsa, you may need to add 1/4 cup or more. Season with salt and pepper according to your preference and enjoy with any dish.
