Please welcome Nikki from Project: Family Cookbook. I’ve been working on a big project myself, thus the lack of posts here for the past few months — more on that later. So Nikki volunteered this beautiful recipe to fill the gap. (Anyone else interested in guest posting? Contact me.) I’m so thankful — and so excited to make some of her Roma Fresca myself. 
Thanks, Nikki! –Wardee
Salsa Fresca is one of my favorite condiments. I bought beautiful local ingredients and could not wait to go home and make it lacto-fermented. I quickly realized that I forgot to purchase any sort of pepper, be it Anaheim, jalapeno or even Bell. But I went ahead with my plan, as I did not want to lose any of the freshness of my Farmer’s Market produce. It turned out beautifully and my family loved it. The result? Roma Fresca. I could not be more excited to share it with you.
You need just a few ingredients:
- 5 large roma tomatoes (skins peeled*, seeded and chopped)
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced (you can use any onion, though sweet onions are easier on the eyes and taste just as good as a yellow onion)
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons whey
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon sea salt (first time making it do 1/2 tablespoon as it is easier to add then take away!)
*To peel tomatoes, submerge in boiling water for 5 seconds. This skin will peel off nicely.
Makes 1 quart. Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Lightly mash/pound to release juices. Stir well. Fill a wide-mouth quart jar. Leave out at room temperature overnight to allow fermentation to begin before placing in fridge.
Use Roma Fresca on top of steaks, fish, or chicken for a mouth watering combination. Also use it with chips as a mild salsa. This tastes fresh and wonderful and lasts for 1 to 2 months in cold storage.
I’m sharing this post in Pennywise Platter Thursday.
About Nikki
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This looks so yummy, but I’m wondering if something else can be used instead of whey. I don’t tolerate dairy well, so I don’t buy it. I know whey doesn’t usually cause the same kinds of problems as regular milk, but I hate to waste a bunch of yogurt just to get a bit of whey. Can lemon juice or vinegar be used instead?
Kristin — Click the whey link in the post above and you’ll see what alternatives you can use (dairy-free).
Could this be canned, do you suppose? And kept in the pantry for longer storage? It looks wonderful!
I don’t see why not! Salsa tends to can very well. As I have never canned this recipe, all I can say is give it a try and please let us know how it turned out!
Nikki recently posted… Roma Fresca
Never used Whey before… what purpose does it serve? Thanks in advance!!
Missy — It provides a starter culture of organisms. You can leave it out if you use 1 tablespoon of salt per quart.