draft1 batch

Cherry Tomato Salsa Fresca for Chips and Steak Tacos

A chunky cherry-tomato salsa for tortilla chips and steak tacos. Serve roughly one-third with chips and reserve two-thirds for tacos. This batch was planned for 4 adults and a young child, alongside about 700 g steak. Keep the salsa mild, with chili or hot sauce separately if desired.

Ingredients

Salsa fresca

cherry tomatoesquartered; very small tomatoes may be halved About 33 whole
small red onionpeeled and very finely dicedUse judgment About 1 whole
garlicfinely grated or crushed 1 small clove
fresh cilantroleaves and tender stems, finely chopped About 0.5–0.75 bunch
fine saltfor initially salting tomatoes; additional salt only after tasting 5 g
white-wine vinegar or apple-cider vinegarstart with 20 ml; add up to 5 ml more after tasting 20–25 ml
extra-virgin olive oil 15 ml
ground cumin 0.5 tsp
sweet or smoked paprika 0.25 tsp
freshly ground black pepper 0.25 tsp
honey or sugaroptional, only if needed to balance excessive sharpnessUse judgment 0.5 tsp
additional fine saltadd 0.5–1 g at a time only after tasting with a salted chipUse judgment See note
reserved salted tomato liquidfrom draining the tomatoes; add back 15 ml at a time if neededUse judgment See note

Equipment

colander
bowl to catch tomato liquid
cutting board
knife
mixing bowl

Instructions

Quarter about 33 cherry tomatoes; halve very small ones. Put them in a colander set over a bowl, toss thoroughly with 5 g fine salt, and drain for 20–30 minutes. Reserve the drained tomato liquid.
Peel and very finely dice the whole small red onion. Taste a piece; if unusually aggressive, soak the diced onion in cold water for 5 minutes and drain thoroughly.
Finely chop about ½–¾ bunch fresh cilantro and finely grate or crush 1 small garlic clove.
After the tomatoes have drained for 20–30 minutes, gently shake the colander without squeezing. Transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and roughly chop them, leaving recognizable pieces while breaking enough flesh to create a juicy salsa.
Combine the tomatoes with:
- the entire diced red onion
- 1 small grated garlic clove
- about ½–¾ bunch chopped cilantro
- 20 ml white-wine or apple-cider vinegar
- 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Do not add more salt yet.
Let the salsa stand for 10 minutes, then taste it with a salted tortilla chip. If needed, add up to 5 ml more vinegar for acidity, 0.5–1 g salt at a time for seasoning, or 15 ml reserved tomato liquid at a time for juiciness. If excessively sharp, add up to 1/2 tsp honey or sugar.
Let the finished salsa rest another 15–30 minutes before serving. If holding for more than about 1 hour, cover and refrigerate, then remove from the refrigerator 15–20 minutes before serving.

Success cues

Salsa is chunky and juicy without being watery.
Tomato remains the dominant flavor, with noticeable but not overpowering raw onion.
Acidity is bright enough to cut through steak and tastes balanced when eaten with a salted tortilla chip.

Scaling notes

Produce counts marked “about” are approximate; adjust for size.

Scale the tomatoes and linear ingredients proportionally. Start with 20 ml vinegar per batch and add up to 5 ml more after tasting. Adjust the small onion and optional sweetener with judgment. Additional salt and reserved tomato liquid are incremental adjustments, not fixed batch totals. The onion’s estimated peeled weight is not a scaling baseline.

Substitutions

Use white-wine vinegar or apple-cider vinegar in place of lime juice.
Use the entire small red onion; do not supplement it with yellow onion.

Development notes

The remaining small red onion weighed 45 g before peeling; its peeled weight was not measured. The intended recipe uses it whole.
Drain the salted tomatoes, then return their liquid only as needed. Check onion strength and acidity with a salted chip. Preparation and tasting results are unconfirmed, so this remains draft.