Food of The Gods: Garlic Habanero Salsa recipe

by Jordan Eberhardt

Over the years I have gained an affinity for cooking and preparing large amounts of food for parties/cookouts, and while I enjoy experimenting with new dishes, I usually have a couple of go-to recipes I include every time. Most of the dishes I prepare have been passed on to me by a friend, family, or some other source I feel is credible. This particular salsa recipe comes from Chris Letchford of Scale The Summit, and has withstood the test of time since he first started making it for all of us back around the formation of the band in 2005. The ingredients also cost no more than 5-6 bucks at your neighborhood grocery store, and will easily be able to feed 8-10 people.

The original recipe is:

5 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 habanero, diced
2 batches of green onions
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 4oz cans of diced green chilis
Salt

Open the diced tomato cans, and strain the juice from the cans into a blender, but do not include the tomatoes just yet. Add the habanero and garlic and blend for a few seconds until there aren’t any big chunks of either. Next, chop off and discard the roots and the chive (green stem) of the green onions. Using only the white part of the onions, put in blender with the diced green chilis and blend for a few more seconds. Lastly, add the tomatoes and salt (be generous) and blend until you have a nice paste. Place in container and refrigerate for at least three hours.

This recipe has a pretty mean kick to it, so if spice isn’t your thing, use half a habanero instead of a full one. I eventually started adding a half cup of cilantro and the juice from half of a lime to the recipe, and if you choose to include them do it at the end. The cilantro will be chopped and dispersed evenly, adding a nice visual aesthetic to the final result. Enjoy!