Cafe Pasqual's Salsa Fresca

Chop the tomatoes by hand. To create a perfect 1/8-inch dice, slice off the stem end and stand the tomato on its now-flat surface. Slice straight down to make 1/8-inch-wide slabs. Turn the cut tomato as a unit and cut across the tomato in 1/8-inch increments, creating a dice. Cut the reserved slice into dice as well. Put the diced tomatoes into a nonreactive bowl.

Cut the onion in the same-size dice as the tomatoes and put in the bowl with the tomatoes.

Add the chili pepper and cilantro. Add the salt and a very small amount of cumin, if you like. Stir well.

NOTE: Because the piquant qualities of onions and chilies vary, you may need to adjust one or the other of these ingredients to taste.

Serve the salsa at room temperature within a few hours of preparing it. It does not store well, the tomatoes and onion become soft and the flavors dissipate.

Recipe Source: Cafe Pasqual's, Santa Fe, NM