Recipe: Cutting Board Salsa

CUTTING BOARD SALSA

"Our household name for this fresh Kurdish sauce is "cutting board salsa" because all the ingredients can be conveniently chopped together into one large pile on a cutting board. Chopping the ingredients together is an excellent way to blend and to distribute the different tastes and flavors."

1 large clove garlic
2 to 3 jalapeno chiles (or 2-3 bird chiles)*
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (lightly packed)
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (or cilantro, to taste)
1 pound garden fresh tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Juice of one lemon

You will need a large cutting board.

On a large cutting board, chop the garlic and then the chiles. Add the parsley and mint and continue to chop.

Slice and then chop the tomatoes, adding them to the pile of other ingredients. Mix as you chop by turning the salsa with the flat of your knife or cleaver. Mix in the salt.

When all the ingredients are well-chopped, put the salsa into a small attractive bowl and blend in the lemon juice. The salsa will be quite runny, ideal for being sopped up with flatbreads.

Serve as a dipping sauce for bread or a side with grilled kebabs.

*The quantity of chiles used in the following recipe produces a salsa that is somewhat hot when eaten all by itself - adjust according to your own taste.

Yield: approximately 2 cups
Adapted from source: Food TV, Bakers' Dozen (Alford and Duguid) SHOW #BD1A28