Recipe of the Week: Home Made Salsa

Well I may be a few days late for Cinco de Mayo, but as someone who could eat Mexican food daily (and sometimes does), a good salsa recipe never goes to waste! This one is hands down my favorite and taught to me a long time ago by my brother. The best part about it (as someone who isn’t a big tomato fan) is its smooth texture. My Father-in-Law even jokes that if you didn’t know what it was, you might think it was marinara!

It also has a smoky flavor due to a somewhat surprising ingredient. 
Here’s what you’ll need:
  • 2-3 dried chili peppers (I use anchos or pasillas) 
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • jalapeno (how much depends on how spicy you like it – I use about half), seeded.
  • 4 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 2-3 cans diced tomatoes
  • cumin
  • salt
  • juice from 1-2 limes

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Stem and seed your dried peppers. Add them to your blender and pulse until they are the texture of fine crumbs.

2. Add the onion, garlic, and however much jalapeno you like. Blend until almost smooth. Add the Romas and blend until pureed.

3. Add 2 cans of the diced tomatoes, fresh lime juice, salt and cumin to taste. Blend until pureed and taste. Seriously, this recipe is all about your personal preference. If it’s not spicy enough, add more jalapeno. If it needs more salt or lime, add it. If it has too much of a fresh tomato taste (I can’t be alone in hating that, can I?) add more of the canned diced tomatoes. In the end, just make sure it works for you, or your crowd, and enjoy!

By the way, we eat this on everything. Chips, tacos, nachos, with a spoon…

Any of you have a special ingredient that brings your recipes to the next level? The dried, smoky peppers totally make this salsa!

Jordan

2 Comments

  1. I just arrived here via "I am Baker". Your salsa looks amazing. But my question is about the color coding on bread. I've never heard of it. (I'm 70 years old, and thought I knew "everything"!) I used to just stand in front of bread isle, pick them up, give a gentle squeeze and check the date. I looked for the date that was the most recent. However, I now buy a dark Russian rye (Orowheat) I love and rarely get the white cotton tasting kind. (One of my guilty pleasures is making grilled cheese sandwiches with the so-called "bad" white bread.) The Orowheat doesn't have a twist tie, they just glue the ends. I haven't had a chance to look round your blog and don't know where you live. I live in San Francisco and don't know if we have the same system here. Thanks for the hint!

  2. Hi Marie!

    Thanks for coming over! I'm based in Chicago – I forgot where I first heard about the twist ties, but they seem to apply here so I would assume it may be nation wide?

    And if you want a really guilty grilled cheese, try using mayonnaise on the bread instead of butter (real mayo, not Miracle Whip). It gives it a super rich, golden brown crunch! I also make most of my grilled cheese with thick slices of avocado and the salsa in the above recipe 🙂

    Now I'm craving a grilled cheese!!!

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