Nana's Salsa

For this blog, I wanted to highlight our friend's family Salsa recipe, affectionately called Nana's Salsa. We've known the Ponce family for about twelve years. They are a warm and welcoming family who always make you feel like a part of their family. They are generous and kind and just plain fun! When I first met the Ponce's, I was astonished to find out that their family would host two big family events each year; their summer picnic and a formal winter dance held at a local hotel. 
The picnic was no 'bring a basket of food to the beach' kind of thing and the winter dance...well 'formal' says it all. You can imagine how much planning it would take to pull off a 'formal' anything. Both of these were organized events, which I came to understand, took a year of planning, every year. The duty of planning these events rotated through different family members each year. Incredible, because these were no small events. The family picnics were huge, with easily 300 people in attendance. Family, friends and neighbors all brought something potluck style. There were raffles, a mariachi band, beer trucks, food, games for the kids, water balloons, egg toss, the whole enchilada.  It was an amazing event, one which I was honored to attend a few years and always looked forward to attending. In fact, I remember, the first time I brought my husband (before we were married) to one of the Ponce's picnics. Afterward, he commented how awesome the Ponce Family was and how they made him feel like a part of their family.  I couldn't have agreed more.
So in honor of the Ponce Family, I thought it would be great to have my friend and writer, Paul Ponce, write up the story on how his Nana's Salsa recipe came to be and how he resurrected it when he thought the recipe was lost. The salsa is incredibly delicious and super fresh with lots of cilantro. I practically ate an entire bag of chips while I polished off the whole bowl of salsa. So here's Paul's family story and recipe. Enjoy! 

Thank you Paul and the Ponce Family for letting me share your story and recipe. 

Nana’s Salsa

by Paul Ponce

Back in the sixties, my grandparents opened up a Mexican food restaurant in Garden Grove, CA. They featured a full service menu consisting of what you might be accustomed to these days. Dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, and chile rellenos were some popular entrées, but before any of that came to the table, the first thing served was always a basket of chips and a bowl of fresh salsa.

Looking at grocery store shelves today, you might notice most jars and bottles of salsa have a red tomato base. A variety of chilies differentiate one product from the next but basically they are all about the same. Back in the day though, sometimes the price of tomatoes would be so high, the salsa needed to be stretched out a little. That is where Nana came in.

My great-grandmother a.k.a. “Nana” had her own salsa recipe that she brought to my grandparents new restaurant and it quickly became a local favorite. A couple years back, after not having tasted that salsa in over twenty years, I asked my Nino for the recipe. When he gave it to me he said there were no exact measurements, only ingredients and suggestions on “about” how much to use.

I remember the look and consistency of the salsa like it was yesterday but it wasn’t until I started blending it all together that the smell brought back a flood of memories. Then, when I took that first taste with a tortilla chip, I knew I had nailed that recipe right on the money. The process is fairly simple and the ingredients are few. The only culinary tool you really need is an emulsion blender and before long you can enjoy this recipe yourself!

Nana's Salsa

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 2-3 cups)

1 bunch green onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 yellow chile (chile guerito), seeded and chopped 

2 Serrano chilies, seeded and chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)

salt, to taste

Clean and coarsely chop the three Roma tomatoes and place them in a deep bowl along with half of the canned tomatoes with juice. Clean and chop the cilantro. Don’t worry about taking each leaf off the stem, just throw it all in. Clean and chop the green onion, make sure to add some of the green part of the stem as well. Remove seeds and veins from the chilies.  Coarsely chop and add chilies to the bowl. Add the remaining half of canned tomatoes. Using an emulsion blender, slowly blend the ingredients together. Add salt to taste.

Refrigerate and serve. 

Note: Letting the salsa, refrigerate overnight will give you the best flavor allowing the ingredients to meld together, but it is not required. Enjoy!