Welcome summer with the vibrant flavors of this Salsa Fresca alongside Mission Organics® Tortilla Chips! All opinions are entirely my own.
“Learn to love change,” we are taught, and yet we, as a species, have evolved to hate it. Change represents the unknown and the unexpected – that which is beyond the ability of our biological computers to perceive and assess. For a species whose sole strength rests between their ears, it is perhaps not surprising that no concept could be more frightening.
Of course, few things are more enduring and ‘unchanging’ than the presence of constant flux.
Case in point, picture a quiet summer afternoon, one of those rare days where everything is going according to plan. Work has been wrapped up early, and there’s nothing left except to enjoy a freshly manicured yard, a well-arranged porch, and a salty breeze lashing in from the bay. It’s one of those rare days where ‘the expected’ isn’t merely a dream, it actually seems to be happening. Then, expectedly, the unexpected happens. The phone rings, and you learn that your home is to be the site of an impromptu summer get together…the following afternoon. Instantly, ‘change’ had entered the situation…
Of course, I’m talking about myself, and of course I’m talking about a few friends inviting themselves over on delightfully short notice.
Regardless of how ‘rushed’ my preparations for this surprise get together were destined to be, the summer is still the summer, and that means the guests want things to look and feel relaxed, even if ‘behind the scenes’ nothing could be further from the truth. This meant I started things off with a quick order from Amazon Fresh for a few bags of Mission Organics® Tortilla Chips, in particular, the Blue Corn, Yellow Corn, White Corn, and Multigrain, since with Prime membership I’d have the chips that afternoon. While they’re also available at most local stores, ordering from Amazon Fresh meant one less trip and one less headache inside of my newly crunched schedule. You can find a store near you with this store locator, and while you’re there you will find more delicious recipes. The Yellow Corn and Multigrain varieties are new to the market and a wonderful addition.
Now, while I’m a professed and practiced classicalist, a student of Plato despite all of my Aristotelian and Aquinean studies, I must confess that my most ‘lived’ philosophy comes from, of all places, Oscar Wilde, since in all things, “I’m a woman of simple tastes, I’m always satisfied with the best.”
This, of course, means I vastly prefer that my salsa come fresh from a vine as opposed to sealed inside a pressurized jar, which brings us nicely to today’s recipe – Fresh Salsa, which pairs perfectly with Mission’s USDA organic certified and non-GMO project verified tortilla chips.
To start things off, we begin by heating either a large cast iron frying pan or griddle and set out the peppers, garlic, onion, and tomatoes so that they get a nice char. During this process, watch for the onion to soften slightly, then peel and slice it and let the slices achieve a nice char. Once that is done, let them all cool down, then skin the garlic, and slice the peppers. If you want to limit the heat of the salsa, remove the pepper seeds.
After that, set this all in a food processor, along with the spices, some anchovies, fresh dill, lemon juice, honey and olive oil and then process until your desired consistency is reached, and just like that, you’ve got a homemade salsa.
Living the Gourmet
Yields 6-8
5 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
20 minTotal Time

Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers – grilled
- 1 large sweet onion – grilled
- 1 lb. grape tomatoes – grilled
- 6 cloves garlic – grilled
- 1 jalapeno – grilled
- 1 Italian long hot pepper - grilled
- 3 anchovies
- 2 tbs. fresh dill
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- 2 tbs. honey
- Juice of ½ fresh lemon
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1 bag of Mission Organics® Tortilla Chips
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron frying pan or griddle. Place the peppers, garlic, onion and tomatoes on the griddle to form a nice char. When the onion has softened slightly, slice the onion and allow a nice char to from.
- Let the vegetables cool slightly, remove the garlic from its skin and slice the peppers and remove the seeds if you like less heat from the salsa.
- Place all of the cooled vegetables in a food processor, along with the spices, fresh dill, anchovies, lemon juice, honey and olive oil.
- Process until the desired consistency is reached.
- Refrigerate until ready you are ready to serve and store any leftover salsa in the refrigerator.
- Serve alongside Mission Organics Tortilla Chips.
What are some of your favorite ‘relaxed’ summer recipes? We would love to hear from you.
Enjoy with Love!
[email protected]'s Recipes says
Chiara says
Katherines Corner says
Amanda says
Patty @ Spoonabilities says
Christina Shoemaker says
gloria says
Ellen says
Sara says
Jolina says
Agness of Run Agness Run says
Laurie Beth says
Carrie says
christine says
Juli Purcell says
Kim says
katriza says