Step to a salsa beat for healthful meals
Whether you know it as salsa verde, salsa roja, pico de gallo or just salsa, this tasty topping has become the top-selling condiment in North America.
Salsa can be used to add flavor and that extra zip to eggs, as a sauce over meats and vegetables, or spooned onto baked potatoes, pizza or pasta.
In addition to being flavorful, salsa is easy to make at home and very low in cholesterol, fat, sugar and calories.
For the ultimate combination of flavor, texture and color, add fresh spring/summer onions to your salsas. Their sweet to mild flavor and high water content make them ideal to use raw or grilled in any kind of salsa. During their season, from March to August, yellow, red and white varieties of fresh spring/summer onions can be identified by their thin, light-colored skins.
Onions not only provide nutrients and flavor, they also provide health-promoting phytochemicals that protect against cataracts, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. Other naturally occurring chemicals found in onions are linked to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Here are two fresh, easy-to-make salsa recipes. The first calls for grilled onions, the second for raw onions. Both salsas will add variety and extra veggies to your menu.
To add flavor and variety to your menus, check out more salsa and chutney recipes available at www.onions-usa.org.
2 large onions, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 C seeded jalapeño peppers, chopped
1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. cumin seeds
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt
Grill the onion slices. Coarsely chop the grilled rings and mix with the chopped tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, cilantro and cumin seeds. Season with salt and fresh lime juice. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.
2 ears corn in husks (about 1 1/4 lb.)
1 T vegetable or olive oil
1 C chopped yellow onion
1/2 C coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
3 T freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, crushed in mortar
1 tsp. bottled crushed red pepper flakes or 1-2 T minced fresh chilies
2-3 tsp. diced chipotles, canned in adobo sauce
1-2 tsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotles
Husk corn and cut kernels from cob using a long-bladed knife, yields about 2 cups. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add corn and saute for about 2 minutes or until lightly golden. Add onion and saute 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and combine with all other ingredients in bowl. Makes 12 servings or 3 cups.