CULTURED SALSA RECIPE

4 medium/large tomatoes, peeled, seeded (I didn’t seed mine, too lazy) and diced

2 small onions, finely chopped

3/4 cup chopped chili pepper, hot or mild (I used frozen mild green chili from NM)

6 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp dried Mexican Oregano

1 tsp freshly ground cumin

small dash of cayenne

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 Tbsp whey (unpasteurized “live” whey)

1/4 cup filtered water

An easy, fast way to peel tomatoes is to quickly dunk them into a pot of boiling water. As it cools, the peels can easily be pulled off without it actually “cooking” the tomato at all. I recommend “hot dunking” the tomatoes before doing anything else!

Mix all ingredients and place in quart-sized jars. I personally use old glass spaghetti sauce jars that have tightly fitting, screw-on lids. Since they cannot be recycled as canning jars they are perfect for cultured projects. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer, adding more water if necessary to cover the vegetables.

The top of the vegetables should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

Will stay good in cold storage for up to 6 months. Can be eaten immediately but the longer it is left to culture the more the flavors develop. This is a great way to get that extra bacteria and good enzymes into salsa lovers. My man is from AZ and NM and considers himself an expert on high-quality, good-flavored salsa. He considers this to be some of the best he has ever had!

-Steph L. Tallent