This salsa came about a few years back when my daughter and I spent most of the summer eating Margherita Pizza: a simple, summery combination of fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and loads of garlic, together with mozzarella cheese on a pizza crust. Two locations that come to mind, where we indulged in this pizza are Kill Devil Hills, NC – at Slice Pizzeria, and in Hoosick Falls, NY. There, Guiseppe’s Restaurant didn’t have a Margherita Pizza on the menu, but so intense was our craving that we had them add garlic and chopped tomatoes to a regular cheese pizza.
We had a hankering for that irresistible combo of basil, garlic and tomato all summer long, so much so that we decided to make a salsa out of it.
I wondered if we should refer to it as a bruschetta topping instead of a salsa. My daughter wisely pointed out that bruschetta topping is basically a salsa. And we really wanted to eat it in a frenzied manner with tortilla chips, like we would with any salsa. So I wondered no more: salsa it was, and we chopped away at the fresh ingredients.
Our concoction came together very quickly, and the air in the kitchen was saturated with the aroma of fresh garlic and chopped basil.
Sticking with the salsa theme, we ate it up rather quickly (embarrassingly quickly) on tortilla chips. The crisp and salty chip was a nice complement to the tomato basil salsa.
I have since discovered that it is also quite good with pita chips (also crisp and salty), or spread over little slices of baguette.
Better still, sprinkle a little mozzarella over the salsa-topped baguette, slip it under the broiler for a minute, and you will have little mini Margherita pizza bites!
Ingredients
- 10 Roma tomatoes (Regular Romas in the grocery are about 3.5 ounces each. Once seeded and chopped you will have about 4 cups.)
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, removed from the stems, washed and dried
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Remove and discard the seeds and pulp. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and place them in a large bowl.
- Stack 3-4 basil leaves on top of each other, roll them up from one of the long sides, then slice through the roll horizontally with a knife. Run your knife once or twice through these ribbons of basil and add them to bowl. Repeat with the rest of the basil leaves.
Finely mince the garlic cloves by hand or in a food processor, and add them to the bowl. Add in the oil, salt and pepper. Gently toss the ingredients together.
The salsa can be served immediately or allowed to sit at room temperature for about 1 hour for the flavors to meld. Serve it with tortilla or pita chips. It can also be served on bite-sized pieces of artisan sourdough or white bread - if desired, sprinkle a little mozzarella or grated Parmesan cheese over the tops and place them under the broiler for about a minute, then serve them immediately.
- Makes about 4 cups of salsa
Recipe Notes
Create, Be Curious, Celebrate... with Food!
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