Salsas and Fresh Sauces

Cooking Skills: Sauces 2

Chapter 5 · Salsas and Fresh Sauces

Skill goal
Chop and dress raw ingredients into bright sauces that need no cooking.

Shopping list for this chapter

The basics

A salsa (Spanish for sauce) is usually raw: finely chopped vegetables or fruit, an acid such as lime juice, salt, herbs and chilli. Because nothing is cooked, the sauce is only as good as its ingredients and its balance. Ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs and a sharp knife do most of the work.

Salt draws water out of chopped vegetables, which becomes the sauce, so salt just before resting the salsa and let it stand for 20 to 30 minutes. Acid (lime or vinegar) brightens everything and keeps colours fresh. Raw onion can be harsh; rinse it in cold water to soften the bite. Cooked tomato sauce is in Cooking Skills: Sauces 1, chapter 5, and dips and purées are in Cooking Skills: Vegetables 2, chapter 7.

Chunky Tomato and mango salsa, chopped Loose Chimichurri: herbs in oil Smooth Green salsa, part-blended Rest 20 to 30 minutes before serving
Figure 5. Texture is the choice: chunky, loose or smooth. All improve with a short rest.

The method

  • Use a sharp knife and cut everything to a similar small size, about 5 mm, so each spoonful has a bit of everything.
  • Rinse raw onion in cold water for a minute and drain it well, to take away the harshness.
  • Add acid and salt, then stir and rest for 20 to 30 minutes so the juices run and the flavours join.
  • Taste on a tortilla chip, a piece of bread or the food you will serve it with, not off the spoon.
  • Finish with fresh herbs at the last minute, because they darken and wilt in acid.
SauceTextureBaseGoes with
Tomato salsaChunkyTomato, onion, limeChips, tacos, eggs
Mango salsaChunky and sweetMango, red onion, chilliFish, chicken, prawns
ChimichurriLoose, oilyParsley, garlic, vinegar, oilSteak, chicken, potatoes
Green salsaPart-blendedCoriander, lime, cucumberFish, tacos, rice
Sharp knives, chilli and raw garlic
Sharp knives: a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one because it needs less force. Cut away from your body, steady the board with a damp cloth under it, curl your fingertips on the meat, and never try to catch a falling knife. Wash knives by hand, one at a time, and never leave one in the washing-up water.

Chilli and spices: chilli can sting skin and eyes, so wash your hands well after chopping it and don't touch your face. Add heat in small steps, and keep portions for children mild.

Raw garlic in oil: keep sauces with raw garlic in oil in the fridge and use within 1 to 2 days (general guidance).

Try it

Level 1 · Start here

A tomato salsa

15 minutes plus resting4 portionschopping evenly and salting at the right time

The classic fresh salsa. Use the ripest tomatoes you can find; in winter, cherry tomatoes usually have more flavour. The rest turns separate ingredients into a sauce.

Ingredients (4 portions)

  • 4 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
  • ½ small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 pinch flaked sea salt
  1. Rinse the chopped onion in cold water for 1 minute and drain it well.
  2. Mix the tomatoes, onion, chilli and lime juice, then add the salt.
  3. Rest for 20 to 30 minutes, stir in the coriander, then taste and add more lime, salt or chilli.
Sharp knives and chilli
Sharp knives: a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one because it needs less force. Cut away from your body, steady the board with a damp cloth under it, curl your fingertips on the meat, and never try to catch a falling knife. Wash knives by hand, one at a time, and never leave one in the washing-up water.

Chilli and spices: chilli can sting skin and eyes, so wash your hands well after chopping it and don't touch your face. Add heat in small steps, and keep portions for children mild.
Level 2 · Fruit

A mango salsa

15 minutes4 portionsbalancing sweet fruit with acid and heat

A sweet, sharp, fresh salsa that lifts grilled fish, chicken and prawns. Use a ripe but firm mango, so it holds its shape when chopped.

Ingredients (4 portions)

  • 1 ripe but firm mango, peeled and diced
  • ½ small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or mint
  • 1 pinch flaked sea salt
  1. Rinse the onion in cold water and drain it. Cut the mango into 5 mm dice.
  2. Stir the mango, onion, chilli and lime juice together with the salt.
  3. Rest for 15 minutes, add the herbs, then taste and add lime or salt to balance the sweetness.
Sharp knives, slippery fruit and chilli
Ripe fruit and cutting: slippery mango and tomatoes slide under the knife. Cut a flat edge to make a stable base, keep your fingers curled and use a sharp knife.

Chilli and spices: chilli can sting skin and eyes, so wash your hands well after chopping it and don't touch your face. Add heat in small steps, and keep portions for children mild.
Level 2 · Herb oil

Chimichurri

15 minutes plus resting4 portionsa loose herb-and-oil sauce

Argentina's green sauce for grilled steak. It is not blended: parsley, garlic and oregano are chopped by hand, so the sauce stays textured, then loosened with oil and vinegar. It is also good on chicken, potatoes and vegetables.

Ingredients (4 portions)

  • 1 large bunch of flat-leaf parsley (about 40 g), finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 pinch flaked sea salt
  1. Mix the parsley, garlic, oregano and chilli flakes in a bowl.
  2. Stir in the vinegar and salt, then the oil.
  3. Rest for 30 minutes at room temperature, taste, and adjust the vinegar and salt. Keep in the fridge and use within 2 days.
Sharp knives and garlic
Sharp knives: a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one because it needs less force. Cut away from your body, steady the board with a damp cloth under it, curl your fingertips on the meat, and never try to catch a falling knife. Wash knives by hand, one at a time, and never leave one in the washing-up water.

Raw garlic in oil: use within 1 to 2 days and keep in the fridge.
Level 3 · Part-blended

A green herb and lime salsa

15 minutes4 portionsblending partly for a creamy texture

A smooth green salsa with cucumber, coriander and lime. Pulse it briefly in a blender and leave some texture. Add a little water if it is too thick; it pours more like a sauce than a dip.

Ingredients (4 portions)

  • ½ cucumber, roughly chopped
  • 1 large bunch of coriander (about 30 g)
  • 2 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 green chilli, deseeded
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 pinch flaked sea salt
  1. Put everything in a blender or food processor.
  2. Pulse in short bursts for about 10 seconds until chopped but still textured.
  3. Taste, adjust the lime, salt and chilli, and add a splash of water if too thick. Serve the same day.
Blending and chilli
Blending: wash the blades carefully; they are very sharp. Unplug the machine before taking the jug apart.

Chilli and spices: chilli can sting skin and eyes, so wash your hands well after chopping it and don't touch your face. Add heat in small steps, and keep portions for children mild.

Experiments

Experiment

Chopped or blended

Texture.

  1. Make half a batch of tomato salsa by hand and blend the other half briefly.

Look for: The chopped salsa is bright and chunky; the blended is smoother, more like a sauce, and slightly duller in colour.

Experiment

Salt before or after

Juice.

  1. Salt tomatoes and leave them for 20 minutes; leave another batch unsalted and salt it at the end.

Look for: The early-salted tomatoes release juice and taste more of tomato. The late-salted one is drier and the flavour sits on top.

Experiment

Resting time

Flavour joining.

  1. Taste a salsa immediately, after 20 minutes and after 2 hours.

Look for: At the start it tastes sharp and separate. After 20 minutes it is balanced; after 2 hours it is mellower and may be watery.

Experiment

Lime or lemon

Which acid.

  1. Make two small mango salsas, one with lime and one with lemon.

Look for: Lime is more aromatic and typical; lemon is cleaner and sharper. Both work. Taste and decide which you prefer.

Tasting notes

What I triedMethod or amountWhat I sawWhat I thoughtWill I do it again?
Tomato salsa
Mango salsa
Chimichurri
Green salsa
Chopped or blended
Salt before or after
Resting time
Lime or lemon

Troubleshooting

ProblemLikely causeWhat to do
Watery salsaWet tomatoes, or rested too longDeseed the tomatoes; drain off excess liquid before serving
Flat, bland salsaNot enough salt or acidAdd a pinch of salt and more lime juice
Harsh onionRaw onion not rinsedRinse in cold water, or soak in lime juice for 10 minutes
Too hotToo much chilli or seedsAdd more tomato, mango or cucumber; serve with yogurt
Brown, wilted herbsHerbs added too earlyAdd herbs at the last minute
Sauce too thinToo much liquidStrain through a sieve and add more chopped ingredients
Sharp knives, raw ingredients and leftovers
Sharp knives: a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one because it needs less force. Cut away from your body, steady the board with a damp cloth under it, curl your fingertips on the meat, and never try to catch a falling knife. Wash knives by hand, one at a time, and never leave one in the washing-up water.

Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
  • I can chop evenly to a small size.
  • I can salt and rest a salsa so the juices run.
  • I can balance acid, salt and heat.
  • I can make a loose herb sauce like chimichurri.
  • I can fix a watery or bland salsa.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Sauces 2, chapter 6 is Chutneys and Pickled Sauces: cooking fruit and vegetables down with vinegar and sugar.