Restaurant-style Homemade Salsa recipe, ready in blender or food processor in few minutes. Warm corn tortilla chips, and fill a bowl of this refreshing red salsa because this party-perfect snack is calling "game day"!
This Salsa recipe can be made ahead up-to a week.Make a double batch as it goes away fast.(recipe doubles easily)
Let's make Salsa today!
RESTAURANT-STYLE RED SALSA
This salsa recipe isrestaurant-style red salsa. The same salsa that is served table-side at most Mexican restaurants.
Refreshing Red Salsa and the fragrance of warm corn tortillas chips transport me to a local Mexican Restaurant in San Diego, CA. Their salsa and chips were my favorite. They serve a big bow of warm tortilla chips and two kind of salsa on-the-house - red salsa and white salsa. This recipe is my version of that red salsa for you. I hope to try and replicate their White Salsa some day and share with you.
Oh, this reminds me. Recently, we found one new local Mexican restaurant in Bay Area (our new home town). they have a Salsa Bar! Every-time, I go there, I'm eating salsa chip-full to understand the taste. So that I can share new recipes with you. A lot more Salsa to make to CDH. Stay tuned!
HOW TO MAKE SALSA?
Making a good restaurant-style salsa at home is very easy. All you need is a blender or food processor, andquintessential pantry-staple salsa ingredients.
- Peeled Tomatoes packed in juice.
- White Onion
- Garlic
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno
- Lime Juice
- Vinegar
- Seasoning
- Cumin (my secret ingredient)
Add these ingredients (as detailed in Recipe Card) in blender or food processor, pulse until coarsely processed. Adjust seasoning to taste and you have it. The best salsa ever!
A good salsa is all about the right balance of salt, sour, heat and flavor. To achieve this balance of flavor, I make few changes to salsa:
- Using canned tomatoes instead of fresh. Canned peeled tomatoes with juice give amazing depth of flavor to salsa.
- Use White Onion instead of red. Red onion are very sharp. White onion are mild and add just right amount of onion flavor without sharpness of red onion.
- Toasted Cumin Powder. This ingredient you will not find in any other recipe. Freshly toasted cumin seeds powder give salsa a depth of flavor you will not find in store-bought salsa.
SALSA HEAT
This Salsa recipe is mild-medium heat salsa. But you can control the heat in salsa with adjustment of one ingredient i.e. Chili Pepper. Chili peppers are the signature flavor and quintessential ingredient of a Mexican Salsa recipe. Peppers such as Jalapeno, Serrano, Chipotle add flavor and heat to the salsa. I have used Jalapeno in this recipe without seeds which adds just right amount of pepper flavor and heat.Serrano is hotter than Jalapeno.
Chipotle has mild heat and smokey flavor. If you like heat and smoky salsa, try my Hot Chipotle Salsa recipe. Or try my mild fresh ingredient salsa Pico De Gallorecipe.
You can also make this low or high in heat with adjustment of amount and kind of chili pepper. I recommend:
1. Medium Heat - 1 Jalapeno, seedless
2. Medium-high - 1 Serrano with seeds
3. High Heat - 2 Serrano or 1 Jalapeno and 1 Serrano
RED ONION vs WHITE ONION
Any day I'll prefer Red Onion in my salsa over white onion. But for quick salsa such as this Blender Salsa, red onion makes it very sharp. White Onion is a mild onion and it does not overpower the freshness of salsa. So I recommend stick to recipe ingredients and use white onion or check-out following tips to use red onion.
To use Red Onion, you can either:
a) Small dice red onion and add to salsa after blender it. Refrigerate for at-least 30 minutes for onion to mellow-down and flavor to marry.
b) Or Add only a tbsp of red onion instead of 1/4 of onion. Add to blender after salsa has been blender. Quick pulse to combine. Refrigerate for at-least 30 minutes for onion to mellow-down and flavor to marry.
Note: If using yellow onion, omit sugar used in recipe.
Friends, chips and salsa are made for each other. Make a double batch of salsa at home (recipe doubles easily). Bring corn tortillas chips and enjoy Super Bowl game on 3rd February.
49ers vs Chiefs!! Who do you think is going to take home the Super Bowl?
Oh, and don't forget to warm the chips in microwave/oven for best chips and salsa experience ever!
FAQs
While fresh tomatoes make great pico de gallo, you gotta go with canned tomatoes if you want that true restaurant salsa flavor.
How to can salsa step by step? ›
Once the salsa is ready, pour hot salsa into clean hot pint canning jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and cap each jar as it is filled. Process jars for 40 minutes* in boiling water bath canner. Turn off heat, carefully remove canner lid, and let jars stand for 5 minutes in canner.
Is vinegar or lemon juice better for canning salsa? ›
Acidic Ingredients
Lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar and has less effect on flavor. You can safely substitute an equal amount of bottled lemon juice for vinegar in salsa recipes using vinegar. However, do not substitute vinegar for lemon juice because this would reduce acidity and produce an unsafe product.
What is salsa usually made of? ›
Salsa roja or “red salsa” usually includes cooked red tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers. Pico de gallo is a popular form of uncooked salsa made from lime juice and coarsely chopped raw ingredients including tomatoes, onions, and cilantro leaves.
Do you leave the skin on tomatoes when making salsa? ›
The advantage of leaving them on is you save time and can make a salsa relatively quickly. But if you're making a thinner salsa, there is an advantage to not having the skin included as it impacts texture. A popular way to remove tomato or tomatillo skins is to fire roast them and then steam the skins off.
What happens if you don't peel tomatoes for salsa? ›
Does it alter the taste of your salsa? Not in the slightest way (in my opinion)! It's delicious and is also a fantastic way to throw in those cherry tomatoes from your garden! They have such a delicious flavor and add just the right amount of sweetness.
How to salsa for dummies? ›
The basic salsa step uses 8 beats to complete, however you don't step on all 8 beats. Your feet move on beats 1,2,3 with a pause on beat 4; you step again on beats 5,6,7 and pause on beat 8. Clap when you will be stepping, and don't clap when you don't step to understand the rhythm of the dance step.
How do you preserve homemade salsa without canning? ›
How do you preserve salsa without canning? For homemade salsa, add a little lemon juice/vinegar during preparation before storing. Consume within 2–3 days as tomato puree ferments over time when stored naturally. Another option is to put in an airtight container & freeze.
How much vinegar do I put in a gallon of salsa? ›
on jars during processing, add ¼ cup vinegar per gallon of water used in the canner. Select tomatoes, peppers, spices, and onions. Always use fresh, firm, ripe tomatoes.
How much vinegar do you put in a jar of salsa? ›
| Add one of the following for acidification: | Pint Jars | Quart Jars |
|---|
| Vinegar (5 percent acidity) | 2 tablespoons | 4 tablespoons |
| *Add acid directly to the jars before filling with tomatoes. If desired, add up to 1 tablespoon of sugar per quart to offset acidic taste. Vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes. |
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Other salsa ingredients, like onions and peppers, are low-acid. So, we add vinegar or lemon juice to the salsa mixture to make it acidic; much like turning low acid cucumbers into high acid pickles by adding vinegar.
Why does Mexican restaurant salsa taste so good? ›
A unique blend of fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lime juice contributes to the vibrant, lively taste of restaurant-style salsa.
Which tomatoes best for salsa? ›
Roma Tomatoes are a popular choice for salsa-making due to their dense and meaty texture, small number of seeds, and full-of-flavor tanginess. Variations of this tomato are sometimes called “plum” or “paste” tomatoes. Red Beefsteak Tomatoes are another favorite for those who favor a juicier tomato in their salsa.
Which tomatoes are best for making salsa? ›
Roma Tomatoes are a popular choice for salsa-making due to their dense and meaty texture, small number of seeds, and full-of-flavor tanginess. Variations of this tomato are sometimes called “plum” or “paste” tomatoes. Red Beefsteak Tomatoes are another favorite for those who favor a juicier tomato in their salsa.
Why use canned tomato instead of fresh? ›
Canned tomatoes have much more lycopene bioavailable compared to fresh tomatoes, which means you get more. When tomatoes are cooked, as they are in all types of processed tomatoes (such as cans, jars, sauces, salsa and ketchup), the lycopene is even more available to your body.
Do professional chefs use canned tomatoes? ›
Although he was first skeptical of canned tomatoes, he admitted that his friend Mario was right after all. In part, thanks to Tower and many other famous chefs, today, canned tomatoes are a common ingredient in high-end restaurant dishes and are considered a staple in all home kitchens.
Does it matter what tomatoes you use for salsa? ›
In fact, you could use just about any type of tomato to make salsa roja! That's because, unlike pico de gallo, the amount of water or seeds doesn't quite matter here since all the ingredients get blitzed in a blender. That being said though, if you want a thicker consistency, go with Roma or other tomato paste.
