I’m not a huge salsa eater. I am when I’m in Mexico but I’m not a fan of super chunky salsa. The big chunks of raw onions? No thanks.
Then a friend told me that she made salsa and let me try it. It was delicious! My first thought? “I want some!” So she gave me a ton of Roma tomatoes from her garden and off I went to make salsa.
Homemade Salsa Recipe
Source: Hub Pages
Source: Hub Pages
* 6-8 large Roma tomatoes or 1-28 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained
* 2 small onions, diced (I used Walla Walla Sweet onions)
* 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
* 2-3 hot peppers, seeded and halved
* 1/2 to 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (to taste)
* 1 1/2 tsp. salt
* ground pepper, to taste
* 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
* 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
* juice of 1 lime
I just love Romas tomatoes! (Especially when they are fresh from the garden.)
If using fresh tomatoes (Romas really are the best), add about 1/4 inch water to a large skillet. Core and cut tomatoes in half and add to skillet, cooking over medium heat.
While you dice the onions, simmer tomatoes until the water has evaporated and the tomatoes start to soften. Peel and discard the tomato skins.
Put tomatoes, hot peppers and cilantro into a blender and blend until smooth.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Saute onions and garlic in hot oil for about 10 seconds, just a flash in the pan.
Add blended tomato mixture to the skillet with the onions and garlic and give it a stir.
Season with salt and ground pepper to taste. Add cumin. Simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until salsa is thick and reduced. You may need to increase your cooking time if your tomatoes are juicy.
You can add fresh lime juice at this point but remember it will temper the spiciness.
(If using canned tomatoes, skip steps 1 and 2)
Here are my notes:
- Hot peppers: Serano peppers are hotter than snot! I added 2 in the first batch and it was so stinkin’ hot.
- I used jalapenos as well and they were better and not as hot.
- I added a little bit of sugar while it was simmering to add a very slight sweet taste. It was really good!
- I also added twice as much cilantro as the recipe called for because I love cilantro.
- And the number one important thing to note – wear gloves when cutting the peppers. I thought the skin on my hand was going to split it hurt so bad. (I’m a dork.)
My kids and I loved this salsa. We made a bunch of it and canned it. We had so many fresh tomatoes from my friend’s yard we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. And I had such good helpers!
What do you think? Are you a salsa fan?
Enjoy! And try not to eat it all in one sitting!
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YUM! I’ll have to make this sometime.
we love salsa too, but it has to be MILD…otherwise, it tears up the inside of my mouth.
will give this recipe a shot
thanks!
My daughter and I love love love salsa! She eats it with fresh veggies where I prefer the traditional tortilla chips. We both like on the hot spicy side. Great info on adding the peppers. Can’t wait to try it.
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Sherry
Chips and salsa are a favorite snack of mine. I like mine with a little bit of heat. I’ve made a similar recipe but would love to give this a try.
This looks and sounds delicous. I also like mine with lots of cilantro. And good idea to wear gloves (I forget to too!)
I made some salsa today for the first time! While I didn’t completely follow your recipe (I omitted the onion and lime juice, and left the seeds in my hot pepper – I only had 1). It’s delicious! I normally don’t like salsa because of the onions, but this is perfect, and the fiance loved it too!
I think there is a slight error in your recipe. 6-8 large roma tomatoes weigh 32 lbs.? I think you mean ounces? 32 lbs. is a lot of salsa.
Ha! You are so right! I can’t believe I didn’t catch that sooner. Thanks for letting me know.