Wild-fermented Tomato Salsa - a classic favourite from the stall! With our growing family we are having to streamline our products for survival meaning we can't be your reliable fermented salsa supply. Although we will sometimes have it at the markets, it's not guaranteed, so if you can't live without it, it's time to get your wild-fermenting salsa on! The long-promised and awaited recipe is here :)
You will need:
Clean hands and work space
Sharp knife and chopping board
Mixing bowl
Fermenting vessel (crock, pail or jar/s)
Ingredients:
1 kg slightly under-ripe truss tomatoes
1 medium sized red onion
2 cloves of crushed/finely chopped Australian grown garlic
medium bunch of coriander (approx. 1 cup of chopped)
3 shoots of spring onions/shallots/green onions (approx. 1 cup of chopped)
1 tbs sea salt
¼ cup of lemon juice
fresh chilli or dried chilli flakes/powder (optional)
Exact amounts and ingredients can be varied and will still produce delicious results.
Process:
Use a sharp knife or a food processor to chop tomatoes and onions into roughly bite sized pieces and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Add garlic, lemon juice, shallots, lemon juice and sea salt. Add chilli to taste.
Mix all ingredients together using your hands and notice the mix becoming more wet as the salt draws liquid out of the tomato and onions. Then transfer everything into your fermenting vessel (alternatively if your vessel is large enough, you can mix it all straight in the vessel).
Weigh down all the solid bits so everything is submerged under liquid (see tips and tricks). Taste the liquid and note the fresh flavour.
Wipe down the sides of the vessel if needed and leave in an easy to access spot like the kitchen bench, and cover with a lid or towel to protect from little critters.
After a couple of days, taste the liquid again and you may notice a hint of complex/sour flavour and even some bubbles/fizz developing. Continue tasting every day or two and marvel at the magic of wild fermentation as the flavour gets more sour and complex. Usually after a week it has a nice level of sour, the bubbling has settled down and it is ready to jar.
Pour off the precious liquid and bottle it up to use as a dressing/pickling juice/mix into sauces/drink as gut shots.
Scoop the salsa into jars, pressing down as you go to remove air bubbles and refrigerate. Enjoy J
FAQ
How do you keep everything submerged under the liquid?
There are many ways to do this but my favourite method is to cut a length of carrot or other suitably sized vegetable to size and cram it into the top of the fermenter and pushed down under the the lid. Another method is to use a clean rock or similar heavy object to hold everything down. Some people also just monitor the fermenter closely and regularly push everything back down as needed. If some little bits of vegetable escape all attempts to keep them submerged, it’s no big deal.
What do I do if it goes mouldy?
Should a white bloom start growing on the surface of the liquid you can simply scrape it away and safely eat the rest. A few tips to help prevent white bloom is to keep everything submerged under liquid, bumb up the salt levels and add a little cider vinegar/lemon juice/ to the fermenter.
You will need:
Clean hands and work space
Sharp knife and chopping board
Mixing bowl
Fermenting vessel (crock, pail or jar/s)
Ingredients:
1 kg slightly under-ripe truss tomatoes
1 medium sized red onion
2 cloves of crushed/finely chopped Australian grown garlic
medium bunch of coriander (approx. 1 cup of chopped)
3 shoots of spring onions/shallots/green onions (approx. 1 cup of chopped)
1 tbs sea salt
¼ cup of lemon juice
fresh chilli or dried chilli flakes/powder (optional)
Exact amounts and ingredients can be varied and will still produce delicious results.
Process:
Use a sharp knife or a food processor to chop tomatoes and onions into roughly bite sized pieces and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Add garlic, lemon juice, shallots, lemon juice and sea salt. Add chilli to taste.
Mix all ingredients together using your hands and notice the mix becoming more wet as the salt draws liquid out of the tomato and onions. Then transfer everything into your fermenting vessel (alternatively if your vessel is large enough, you can mix it all straight in the vessel).
Weigh down all the solid bits so everything is submerged under liquid (see tips and tricks). Taste the liquid and note the fresh flavour.
Wipe down the sides of the vessel if needed and leave in an easy to access spot like the kitchen bench, and cover with a lid or towel to protect from little critters.
After a couple of days, taste the liquid again and you may notice a hint of complex/sour flavour and even some bubbles/fizz developing. Continue tasting every day or two and marvel at the magic of wild fermentation as the flavour gets more sour and complex. Usually after a week it has a nice level of sour, the bubbling has settled down and it is ready to jar.
Pour off the precious liquid and bottle it up to use as a dressing/pickling juice/mix into sauces/drink as gut shots.
Scoop the salsa into jars, pressing down as you go to remove air bubbles and refrigerate. Enjoy J
FAQ
How do you keep everything submerged under the liquid?
There are many ways to do this but my favourite method is to cut a length of carrot or other suitably sized vegetable to size and cram it into the top of the fermenter and pushed down under the the lid. Another method is to use a clean rock or similar heavy object to hold everything down. Some people also just monitor the fermenter closely and regularly push everything back down as needed. If some little bits of vegetable escape all attempts to keep them submerged, it’s no big deal.
What do I do if it goes mouldy?
Should a white bloom start growing on the surface of the liquid you can simply scrape it away and safely eat the rest. A few tips to help prevent white bloom is to keep everything submerged under liquid, bumb up the salt levels and add a little cider vinegar/lemon juice/ to the fermenter.