Salsa secrets!

Tonight's salsa included yellow pear tomatoes, pickling cukes, Jimmy Nardello peppers, scallion, jalapeno pepper, sweet onion, cilantro, garlic scape pesto, lime juice, olive oil, a hint of agave nectar and white vinegar, and salt.  Let meld for at least 20 minutes before diving in.  And you will want to dive in!

My most successful salsas have these three things going for them:

1. Heat needs sweet.  A touch of agave nectar or honey helps balance the heat from a healthy jalapeno pepper.
2. Acid is a fresh salsa's best friend.  I use both fresh lime juice AND a splash of white vinegar.  While I have more than seven kinds of vinegar in my cubbard, white vinegar is perfect for the job.  It doesn't override the flavors of the fruits and veggies.  Just a hint...a teaspoon for a bowl that includes three or four tomatoes and all the other goodies.
3. The real pièce de résistance is a big dollop of my own garlic scape pesto--with or without the additon of cheese that is normally found in pesto.  In this case, my scape pesto consisted of three ingredients: scapes, pine nuts and evoo.  Try adding a dollop of any pesto--I bet a popular brand of cilantro pesto would be delicious!