One of the BEST parts of going out and eating Mexican food is the Salsa and Chips and Sipping on a Margarita!

Restaurant Style Salsa

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There are no fancy ingredients in great salsa,

the basics are pretty simple.

Just remember great tasting tomatoes makes great tasting salsa.

I’ll give you a few pointers if you have not so “great” tomatoes as well.

You can spice this up as much as you’d like.

But this is a really great salsa to enjoy with all your Mexican favorites….and late night snacking on chips!

This recipe makes just over 2 cups of salsa.

Plenty for snacking and still enough to have in the fridge for another serving or two…

best part is it tastes delicious even at the end of the week.

Now that is GOOD Salsa!

Let’s talk tomatoes…

Start with ripe tomatoes. I typically use Roma tomatoes as they are readily available year round and have a decent flavor even in the winter. Vine-ripened tomatoes are always a good option for fresh salsa, you may pay a little more, but TOTALLY worth it. If your tomatoes are really firm, set them in the sun for a day, they will slowly heat up and get softer and sweeter. Don’t have time for that?

Ok plan B. Use the tomatoes you have and add about 4 oz of canned diced tomatoes.
Now in a pinch, you can use diced tomatoes in the can if you like, but nothing is as good as fresh tomatoes.

Next is the jalapeno…oh it adds such great flavor to the salsa.
Add one jalapeno if you prefer mild- almost medium spicy salsa.
Roast the jalapeno longer if you prefer it really mild.
If you like it spicy add 5 jalapenos.

Fresh Cilantro, well, this is a must if you ask me. It’s pretty hard to replicate fresh cilantro flavor if you can’t get your hands on fresh cilantro. Gourmet Gardens now makes lightly dried herbs, you’ll need at least one container of it. But really fresh is best, especially in salsa. That’s why jarred salsa has such an OFF taste, salsa is supposed to be made fresh!

Next up… Lime: Use juice from a fresh lime, not some “lime juice” container, it’s not the best tasting and as mentioned fresh is best.

Salt: There is so much CHATTER about salt, the best types, personal preference comes into play here. I like Coarse Kosher Salt when cooking! That is all I use and no I wouldn’t use table salt, it’s too fine and not the best flavor and YES you can tell the difference. I could go on all week about it.

Now for the method,

I heat my cast iron pan on high, place the tomatoes and jalapeno into the pan and toss them around until they are all black on all sides. (they don’t need to be completely black, but black areas on all sides will do)

I don’t peel, seed or cut anything once they are finished getting blackened in the pan.

I just place everything in a blender, add in a bunch of cilantro, couple tablespoons lime juice and a teaspoon of salt and BLEND!

Keep salsa in a glass jar for best flavor, will keep for at least 5 days in the fridge.

Onions: I don’t often put onions in my salsa, they often over power the taste of the tomato. If I know the salsa will all be consumed on one day, I will add two diced scallions, but if it’s not consumed on the day it’s made, the onion flavor will begin to over power the salsa, so leave it out when in doubt, or add a little in as you are serving it.

If you like Salsa Verde (Green Salsa) click here for that recipe.

Print Recipe

Restaurant Style Salsa Recipe

Servings: cups salsa

Author: Diane Schmidt - createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

8 Roma tomatoes
1 jalapeno
1 bunch fresh cilantro 1/4 cup chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt add more as needed

Instructions

Heat skillet and blacken tomatoes and jalapeno on all sides
Place tomatoes and jalapeno in blender along with cilantro, lime juice and salt and blend until everything is well chopped and combined.

Now about the Margaritas:
You’ll find lots of my margarita recipes HERE
I have drinks, pies and cupcakes all “Margarita Style” take a look!