Salsa Recipe and Wine Pairing
How to make the perfect Salsa
**Preparation time:** 10minutes
**Serves four people**
You know the party is starting when the chips and dips are brought out. On a sunny evening, gathered around with friends, this sort of finger food always goes down a treat.
It always seems a little strange to us that people bother buying the packaged, store-bought versions of these light snacks, as not only are they incredibly easy to make yourself, they’re also so much more delicious with fresh ingredients.
On top of this, home-made salsas and other dips are brilliantly flexible and versatile - you can throw pretty much anything into the mix that you particularly like, and it is always going to come out fantastically.
Here’s a super simple recipe for a classic tomato salsa. Use this basic recipe as a base for your own inventions - you can up the spiciness of the blend, add in your favourite fresh herbs or condiments, and experiment with different key ingredients or varieties of tomato.
The possibilities are endless, and will always bring a smile to the faces of your guests.
What you'll need:
- About 250 grams of your favourite, fresh tomatoes, chopped roughly
- A small white onion
- Three mild (if you like) chillis, finely chopped
- A bunch of fresh green coriander, roughly torn or chopped
- A pinch of salt
- A squeeze of lime juice (to taste)
- One tablespoon of water
- Whatever other condiments you fancy
Method:
There’s no specific method to this - just put everything in a bowl and mix it all up! You’ll want to serve this fresh and chilled, with thick tortilla chips, vegetable batons or use it as a topping for barbecued food or potato skins, etc.
Wine pairing for Salsa
Although it is unlikely that you will you be specifically pairing a wine with your salsa, there’s no reason why this tasty dip shouldn’t be the centre point for an evening of wine drinking with friends.
After all, who doesn’t love chips ‘n’ dips, and who doesn’t love drinking a good bottle of wine, too?
This is sharing food, made to be enjoyed in a group. No knives and forks, no formalities, a bit of mess and a bit of banter… and you’ll want a wine which reflects this informality while pairing nicely with the dominant tomato and chilli flavours in the dip.
For us, the best pairing for a tomato salsa like this one is probably a classic, light-bodied Italian red. Something from Tuscany would be ideal, a Chianti or another Sangiovese-based wine.
However, if you want to keep things fun and authentic, why not go for a good bottle of Cava? This affordable Spanish bubbly wine has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, and quality of this previously sneered-at wine style has never been better. Plus, fizzy wine, chips and salsa and friends… what’s not to love?
Know which wines fit you best! Give it a go and take our wine palate quiz below to know your top 3 favourite types of wine.