When most of us hear the word salsa, we probably picture something red, tomato-based and perhaps fairly spicy, sitting alongside a bowl of tortilla chips. But salsa is a much bigger world than that. It can be fresh or cooked, red or green, fiery or mild, made with tomatoes, fruit, herbs, roasted vegetables or even ingredients you would never expect. Once you start thinking about fresh homemade salsas as simply combinations of good ingredients brought together to add flavor to a dish, the possibilities become almost endless.
I recently explored the world of fresh homemade salsas with Betty Williams of @BettyEatz, who joined me from Southern California while I was in my Flavor of Italy kitchen outside Rome. Betty lives about an hour from the Mexican border and has spent decades surrounded by the Mexican, Asian and Mediterranean influences that are so much a part of California cooking, while I naturally came at salsa from an Italian perspective. That's where our conversation became especially interesting, because the word salsa simply means "sauce" in both Italian and Spanish. The traditions aren't the same, but the underlying idea of taking flavorful ingredients and using them to transform something simple is surprisingly universal.
Fresh Homemade Salsas Aren't Just One Thing
One of the things Betty has learned from living in Southern California is just how many different kinds of Mexican salsa there are. Mexico has distinct regional cuisines, and the salsas change along with them. Some are fresh, some are roasted, some use dried chilies that are reconstituted, and others are cooked before everything is blended together. There's also the misconception that Mexican salsa must be extremely hot. It certainly can be, but it doesn't have to be. Betty recalled a conversation with Andrés Carniglia of Inspired by Mexico, who grew up in central Mexico and explained that the red and green salsas on his family's table weren't necessarily very spicy. Heat could be added, but it wasn't the defining characteristic.
That makes perfect sense to me because the same thing happens in Italy. We use peperoncino, particularly in central and southern Italy, but that doesn't mean everything is supposed to set your mouth on fire. In my own family, my husband loves quite a lot of heat, while I'm happier with just enough peperoncino to notice it. Whether you're making Italian or Mexican fresh homemade salsas, the goal is flavor, not a test of endurance.
Mexican salsas also change according to region and what they're served with. Green versions might accompany fish or chicken, while red salsas are often paired with meat or cheese. Betty explained that northern Mexican cooking tends to feature more beef and cheese, while coastal regions naturally have more fish. The salsa on the table reflects what's being cooked around it.
Italy Has Its Own Tradition of Fresh Homemade Salsas
Italians aren't likely to put out a bowl of salsa and tortilla chips before dinner, but once you look beyond that particular way of serving it, Italian cooking is filled with things that belong to the same extended family. The obvious example is salsa verde, the classic green sauce associated particularly with Piedmont. It's traditionally served with bollito misto, an assortment of boiled meats that appears on many northern Italian tables, especially around the holidays.
Italian salsa verde is based on parsley, garlic, bread, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, with variations that can include anchovies, capers and hard-boiled egg. It's cold, fresh, acidic and herbal, with enough punch to transform something as simple as boiled meat. It's also wonderful with grilled meat, fish and vegetables.
Then there are all the combinations we make without necessarily thinking of them as fresh homemade salsas. In summer, I frequently chop ripe tomatoes, add basil or oregano, perhaps some fresh peperoncino, salt and good olive oil, and put the bowl on the table with whatever we're grilling. We spoon it over fish or meat, or pile it onto bread. Call it bruschetta topping if you like, but during our conversation Betty pointed out the obvious: that's a salsa.
My Italian Peach and Tomato Salsa
Before talking with Betty, I decided to play around with the idea myself and make a salsa using ingredients that felt completely natural to me here in Italy. The result was an Italian peach and tomato salsa, and it turned out to be one of those recipes that immediately makes you wonder why you hadn't made it before.
I used ripe but still firm peaches and meaty tomatoes, along with a small red onion, preferably a sweet Tropea onion when I can get one. Then I added rinsed capers, fresh basil and a little chopped peperoncino. Extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar provided the dressing, with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to finish it.
The combination works because there's so much contrast. The peaches bring sweetness, the tomatoes bring acidity and juiciness, the onion and peperoncino add bite, and the capers give you that unmistakable salty Mediterranean punch. Basil ties everything together. I served it with grilled fish, which was delicious, but I'd happily spoon it onto bruschetta or serve it alongside grilled chicken or pork. It's exactly the sort of thing I love to put on the table when we're eating outside in warm weather.
The Secret to Great Fresh Homemade Salsas
Betty makes a lot of fruit salsas, especially when California peaches, mangoes or pineapples are at their best. One of her most useful pieces of advice is also one of the simplest: cut the ingredients roughly the same size. When the peach, tomato, onion, pepper and other ingredients are diced consistently, you get a little of everything in each bite.
Texture matters too. The best fruits for fresh homemade salsas tend to be ones that hold their shape after they're cut. Peaches work beautifully as long as they're ripe but still firm, while mango and pineapple are excellent choices for the same reason. Then you need contrast. Sweet fruit becomes more interesting with onion and chili, acidity brings brightness, and fresh herbs pull everything together.
In Mexican-style fruit salsa, Betty generally reaches for lime as the acid and cilantro as the herb. In my Italian version, I went in another direction with red wine vinegar, basil, olive oil and capers. The principle is similar even though the finished flavors belong to completely different culinary traditions.
Let the Season Decide What's in Your Salsa
One of the pleasures of making fresh homemade salsas is that you really don't need to follow a rigid formula. Betty described opening her refrigerator, spotting a red bell pepper that needed to be used and simply chopping it up and adding it to her salsa. That's exactly how I like to cook too. If you've got beautiful peaches, use peaches. If mangoes are at their peak, start there. If your garden is overflowing with tomatoes, you've already got the beginnings of dinner.
Seasonality naturally changes what ends up in the bowl. In late summer here in Italy, tomatoes, peppers, peaches, basil and fresh chilies practically suggest combinations themselves. Fresh homemade salsas also don't depend on exact measurements. Taste the fruit and your tomatoes, decide how hot your chili is, and add the acid gradually. You can always add more salt, lime juice, vinegar or peperoncino. Salsa is a particularly forgiving place to trust your palate rather than worry about following a recipe to the letter.
Fresh Homemade Salsas Can Be Raw, Roasted or Cooked
Salsa doesn't necessarily mean raw. Many Mexican salsas begin with ingredients that have been roasted over a flame or under the broiler. Tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños and onions change dramatically when they're charred, becoming deeper, sweeter and smokier before they're blended. Dried chilies open another door entirely because reconstituting them creates flavors that are very different from those of a fresh chili.
Betty told me about a "drunken salsa" she learned to make in which dried chilies are reconstituted while tomatoes, jalapeños and onion are charred. Mexican beer is added and the mixture simmers before everything goes into a blender. The result is thicker than many fresh salsas and can almost be used as a spread. It's the kind of thing you can prepare ahead for a dinner, party or casual lunch outside and then put on the table for everyone to use however they like.
And Then There Was Dill Pickle Salsa
Of all the combinations Betty mentioned, this was the one I wasn't expecting. She makes a green salsa by roasting tomatillos, jalapeños and onion under the broiler and then blending them with fresh dill pickles. Not the pickle juice, but the actual pickles. It sounded pretty unlikely to Betty too when she first encountered the idea, but she tried it and couldn't stop eating it.
That's precisely why fresh homemade salsas are such fun. They're quick enough and inexpensive enough that you can experiment without feeling you've risked an entire dinner. Betty is currently working on a green salsa that moves toward Asian flavors, experimenting with ingredients such as green onion, ginger, garlic and perhaps sesame oil. Her first attempt wasn't quite right, so she'll keep working on it. Sometimes that's the most interesting part of cooking.
Fresh Homemade Salsas Can Even Be Dessert
Just when I thought we'd stretched the definition about as far as it could go, Betty introduced dessert salsa. She made one this summer with finely diced ripe strawberries, mint and lime. There was no need for added sugar because the strawberries were already sweet enough, and she served it with tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon sugar.
I immediately started thinking about what else you could do with it. Spoon that strawberry mixture over pound cake, for example, or serve it with a slice of chocolate cake. Suddenly something that began as salsa becomes a fresh fruit topping that could work with all kinds of desserts. It's another example of how fresh homemade salsas can move well beyond the tomato, onion and chili combination most of us first picture when we hear the word.
Fresh Homemade Salsas Across the Globe
What I especially enjoyed about my conversation with Betty was discovering the connections between food traditions that initially seem quite separate. Italian salsa verde and Mexican salsa verde aren't the same thing at all. One is built around parsley, while the other often begins with tomatillos and chilies, but both bring freshness, acidity and intensity to whatever they're served with.
The same is true of fruit salsa. Betty might combine peach with jalapeño, cilantro, onion and lime, while I might take that same peach and combine it with tomato, Tropea onion, basil, capers, peperoncino, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Betty's California kitchen brings in still more influences, including the Asian flavors she's now experimenting with. My own palate has been shaped by growing up in Britain, being American and living most of my adult life in Italy. Those different influences inevitably find their way into the food we cook.
And that's really the joy of salsas across the globe. The basic idea travels remarkably well. Ingredients change according to where you live, what's growing, what you have in your refrigerator and the food traditions that have influenced you. California peaches can meet Mexican chilies and lime. Italian peaches can meet tomatoes, basil and capers. A Mexican-style green salsa can suddenly acquire dill pickles, and another can begin moving toward the flavors of Asia.
Start Making Your Own Fresh Homemade Salsas
If there's one thing Betty and I completely agreed on, it's that making your own salsa shouldn't be intimidating. You don't need special equipment or an elaborate recipe. Start with good ingredients and think about balance. You want freshness, some acidity, a little salt and usually an aromatic component such as herbs, onion or garlic. You may want heat or sweetness, or you may want the deeper flavor that comes from roasting ingredients first. From there, taste and adjust.
Most importantly, look at what's already in your kitchen. A few ripe tomatoes, half an onion, a peach, some basil or a lonely pepper in the refrigerator might be the beginnings of your next salsa. Serve it over grilled fish, spoon it onto chicken, put it alongside meat, pile it onto toasted bread, eat it with tortilla chips or try it with cheese. And if you happen to have perfectly ripe strawberries, you might even serve salsa for dessert.
Once you stop thinking of salsa as simply that red stuff that comes in a jar, you begin to see just how enormous the possibilities are. Fresh homemade salsas can take their inspiration from Italy, Mexico, California or almost anywhere else in the world. They're about using what's in season, understanding what tastes good together and being willing to experiment. Start with what's fresh, taste as you go, and make the salsa your own.
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