Parsley salsa is a sauce typically made from a mixture of tomatoes, mild chilies, onions, and chopped parsley. Cooking with parsley is considered a nutritious option because this herb is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron. Different cooks often like adding various amounts of parsley to their salsa recipes because it can have a rather strong taste. Parsley salsa can be either red or green depending on a few different ingredient choices. This salsa flavor is usually available in grocery stores, although many home cooks prefer to make their own from fresh vegetables and herbs.
One of the simplest recipes for parsley salsa is known as salsa fresca in Mexican cooking. It is made by simply dicing the fresh vegetables and chillies before tossing them together just like a tossed salad. One of the most important steps is generally dicing the parsley leaves into small enough pieces with a sharp kitchen knife. Some cooks add a small measure of olive oil or mild vinegar to bring the rest of the flavors together. This kind of salsa fresca can be a popular dip for tortilla chips or for rolled and fried tortillas filled with meat and cheese.
Another type of parsley salsa is a version of salsa verde that involves making a puree out of the parsley and other ingredients. This step can be done in a food processor or a blender. A few cooks may also prefer to whisk these ingredients together by hand if they like chunkier salsas. Other favorite salsa verde recipes include cilantro, garlic, shallots, and vinegar. Some cooks also like to add fresh mint to this version of parsley salsa for added green color as well as extra flavor.
Other ingredients found in some parsley salsa recipes include chopped anchovies, capers, or crushed almonds. Some cultural cuisine traditions have their own takes on this kind of salsa. Italian-style versions frequently include capers, chopped purple onions, and diced pieces of hard boiled egg. Instead of tortilla chips, this type of parsley salsa is often served on top of small pieces of bruschetta or ciabatta bread.
Many versions of salsa verde are not as spicy as a lot of red salsa recipes. Most cooks find that adding hotter chili pieces to this kind of salsa creates too many competing flavors. Cooking this kind of sauce with parsley can be a good alternative for people with sensitivities to spicy chili peppers because it has just as much flavor when made with the right balances of ingredients.