Superbowl is round the corner and it calls for some easy crowd pleasing finger food that are guaranteed to score! This is one of my favorite game day recipe, a base that gives me flexibility to serve with some chips or a plate of Veggie Nachos or Veggie Quesadillas or as one of the toppings for a burrito bowl. Over the years this has become our favorite game day food for any big sports event… Cricket, Boxing, Tennis.. and MMA, provided the fight goes on for more than a few seconds. Essentially I always have a jar of Salsa in my refrigerator and it has always been a big score for me.I first had Salsa at a mexican restaurant in Mystic CT, the food in Margaritas is average but the salsa is a town favorite. Thats the taste that inspired this recipe and to me it feels like perfection, every bite brings back memories of Sangrias with girlfriends. Play around with the ingredients and find that perfect taste for you. This is also one of those recipes that I am asked about a lot! So here goes. Couple things to keep in mind: First, I use plum tomatoes for this because they have low moisture content, robust flavor and mild acidity making it a perfect choice, but any other type of tomatoes works just as good. Secondly I don’t use a food processor to chop the vegetables because they loose their crunchiness, which I really like. But if thats something your not particular about then just throw all ingredients (except corn and beans) in a food processor and pulse away. Third, allow it to rest for a day before digging in. This helps with all the flavors to really blend in.The picture above shows how I chop the vegetables, they are almost finely chopped.

Time for Prep: 20 mins      Time to Cook: 5 mins     Yield: 16oz (2 cups)      Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3-4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3-4 cubanelles, chopped
• 2-4 jalepenos, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 english cucumber, chopped
• 1/4 cup Red Wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp chili paste or Tubasco sauce (optional)
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 cup sweet yellow corn, cooked (Optional)
• 1 cup black beans, cooked (Optional)

Process:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix in the chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, cubanelles, jalepenos, onion, cilantro and cucumber.
2. Add tomato and chili paste, mix it in.
3. Add yellow corn and black beans, mix in.
4. Add salt, cumin, cayenne and red wine vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning based on preference. If you want a runnier Salsa, add more tomato paste and/or red wine vinegar.
5. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for around 14-15 days.