Recipes › Tomato (Plum) › Plum Tomato Salsa Cruda with Tortilla Chips
Plum Tomato Salsa Cruda with Tortilla Chips
A proper, uncooked Mexican salsa where ripe plum tomatoes are the whole point. Everything is chopped by hand rather than blitzed — you want texture, not purée — and the result is bright, fresh and fiery in a way that a jar from the supermarket never gets close to. Ready in under 20 minutes and endlessly useful, this works as a dip, a taco topping or spooned over grilled chicken.
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Ingredients
- 700 g Tomato (Plum), finely diced, seeds scooped out and discarded
- 1 red onion, very finely diced
- 2 fresh red chilli, deseeded and very finely choppedor use 1 jalapeño
- 1 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 25 g fresh coriander, stems finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
- 2 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 150 g tortilla chips
Method
- Put the finely diced red onion into a small bowl, pour over the lime juice and add half the salt. Stir and leave to macerate for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. This takes the raw edge off the onion.About 10 min
- Finely dice the plum tomatoes, scooping out and discarding the seed pockets as you go — this keeps the salsa from becoming watery. Transfer to a large bowl along with the chopped coriander stems and leaves, chopped chilli, and grated garlic.About 5 min
- Pour the lime-macerated onion and all its juices over the tomato mixture. Add the olive oil and the remaining salt. Stir well to combine, then taste. Adjust the seasoning, lime and chilli to your liking.
- Leave the salsa to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving so the flavours can meld. Serve alongside the tortilla chips.About 5 min
Tips
- Removing the seed pockets from the tomatoes is not fussy — it is the difference between a salsa with clean, defined flavour and one that pools with watery liquid within minutes.
- Macerating the onion in lime juice in step 1 is a small step that makes a real difference. Raw red onion in salsa can be aggressive and domineering; this tames it beautifully.
- This salsa is best made no more than an hour ahead. The tomatoes will continue to release liquid over time and it will lose its fresh, vibrant quality.
Ring the changes
- Dice half an avocado and fold it in just before serving for a quick, chunky guacamole-salsa hybrid.
- Add 200g drained, rinsed black beans to turn this into a more substantial dip or taco filling.
Keeping it
Best eaten fresh on the day it is made. If storing, drain off any excess liquid before serving. Will keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours but will lose its fresh character.
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