Restaurant-Style Salsa

I’m not kidding when I say I could eat chips and salsa every day of my life, without complaint. No exaggeration - it’s one of my favorite things ever. I have a number of oven roasted salsa recipes on this blog, but when I need a salsa fix fast, I can throw a few simple canned ingredients together to to make this restaurant-style version. It goes without saying, use the best canned tomatoes you can - DO NOT use bitter tasting canned tomatoes. No amount of salt or sugar will fix the bitterness. Some canned tomato brands I’m fond of - Cento, SMT, Tuttorosso, Muir Glen, and Sclafani.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• citrus squeezer https://amzn.to/33vFCgj

• Jane’s crazy mixed up salt https://amzn.to/2H2wUfD

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Restaurant-Style Salsa

makes about 1 quart

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 28-ounce can tomatoes (whole, diced, crushed… doesn’t matter)

• 10-ounce can Ro-tel tomatoes (tomatoes with chilis)

• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed

• juice of 1 lime

• 1 teaspoon Jane’s crazy mixed up salt (or table salt)

• optional: 1 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse all ingredients together until they reach your desired consistency.

2. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Charred Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

My last CSA delivery included beautiful tomatillos that I used to make this fabulous salsa verde.  Roasting the tomatillos, onions, garlic, and chiles in the oven provides wonderful charred flavor to this salsa which can be used in so many ways - as a dip, as enchilada sauce, stir it into rice, serve it over chicken, and so on.   

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This salsa is so stinking delicious!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• vitamix https://amzn.to/2SMTezS

• food processor https://amzn.to/2STlm4x

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/2yKpGfn

• deli containers https://amzn.to/3dvQ9fp

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Charred Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

Printable Recipe

makes about 1 quart

Ingredients

• 2 pounds tomatillos, paper husks removed and sticky residue rinsed off

• 2 large white onions, cut into 1/2-inch round slices

• 4 whole cloves of garlic (paper skins left on)

• 2 whole serrano chiles

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• Optional: 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro (or more to taste)

• Optional: juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Preheat broiler and place rack about 3 inches from heat source.

2. Cut tomatillos in half and place cut side down on a large rimmed sheet pan.

3. Place onion slices, whole paper wrapped garlic cloves, and whole chiles on the same sheet pan; roast in oven for 10-15 minutes until the chiles and onions begin to char.

4. Remove sheet pan from oven and place the tomatillos, onions, and salt in a blender or food processor.

5. Pull the stems off the chiles and squeeze the garlic cloves out of their paper skins; add to the tomatillos and onions (discard stems and papery skins).

6. Slowly pulse the ingredients together until the salsa reaches the consistency you like.

7. Stir in fresh chopped cilantro and lime juice if using and serve. Makes approximately 4 cups of salsa.