Saucy, spicy, and fresh

Photographed by Jim Stott Salsa Verde

Salsa is a sauce, admittedly a very chunky, hearty sauce that doesn’t pour easily, but it is still a sauce! It’s also a sauce that, by most accounts, is the most popular condiment in the United States and perhaps in the world. Centuries before Columbus landed on the shores of the New World, tomato and pepper farming had spread from the land of the Incas to Central America and Mexico. The climate was perfect for growing lush crops of both, and blending these two veggies together was inevitable. Adding spices, onions, chilies, and herbs probably came from early beliefs that many of these commonly available ingredients are of real value in warding off fevers and other maladies. Plus, family recipes of salsa added lots of spark and variety to a diet based mainly on rice, beans, and corn.