House of EJ

A tomato food fight, as in the La Tomatina festival, would be in order … if you were in Spain.

Here in America, life is not quite as wild. Food fights are more common in college cafeterias. So what to do with all these tomatoes from the garden?

Tomatoes from the garden

We just resorted to the mundane tasks of making salsa, tomato sauce, canning and freezing the tomatoes. So, as I was cutting up the tomatoes to make salsa and pico de gallo last Wednesday, I was thinking of our friend Julie, who was having the time of her life at the La Tomatino festival in Spain.

Ingredients for salsa

Dice the tomatoes

Mix all the salsa ingredients in a large bowl

Salsa with tortilla chips

Fresh Tomato Salsa
Makes about 2 cups

1 lb fresh ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup bell peppers, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1-2 Thai bird chili peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt to taste

Core and cut ripe, room temperature tomatoes into 1/2 inch dice.
Place in a large bowl. Add red onions, bell peppers, cilantro, lime juice, chili peppers and salt. Stir until combined. Serve with tortilla chips.

Julie reported an incredible experience at La Tomatina. After the festival, she shampooed her hair three times, and the next day she still found bits and pieces of tomato stuck in her hair and ear. One other slight inconvenience – she and her friends and plenty of other tourists got pick pocketed.

Have I piqued your interest in this fun festival? If you’re planning to go to La Tomatina next year, check out this informative video on the festival and how to get there. And watch out for those pick pocketers!