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–+ servings
Salsa in a bowl with chips laying around

Tammy's Restaurant-Style Salsa

Tammy Circeo
The point of this recipe is to provide you with a salsa that you can mix up on a whim and serve a crowd, if needed, or you can scale it down, too. Use high-quality canned tomatoes if you can't get fresh ones. Roast poblanos or jalapenos instead of using canned ones. 
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Sauces
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 1 quart plus

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ pounds tomatoes or a 28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 small can green chiles or 2 fresh roasted poblanos
  • ½ medium white onion chopped
  • 1 jalapeno chopped small, remove seeds if desired
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • ½ cup passata AKA as tomato puree
  • zest of one lime optional
  • juice of a lime
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Option #1 - Chop everything small and mix together. Serve right away or store in a quart jar in the fridge. 
  • Option #2 - Put all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 10 times, or until you get the consistency you like. Don't over process or it will be too runny to dip onto chips.

Notes

  1. Wear gloves when cutting fresh hot peppers. If you don't have a glove, use a plastic storage bag. Even a paper towel is better than nothing! I've touched my eyes, the corner of my mouth, or the end of my nose one time too many time to not warn you about this!
  2. If you don't plan to puree the salsa, be sure to chop the vegetables rather small. If you've ever tried to get large chunks of salsa onto a chip, and consequently, into your mouth, you know this is good advice.
  3. Use the stems of the cilantro. They ARE NOT a throw-away part of this herb. They have all the same flavor as the leaves and when pureeing or chopping small, it's a great way to use what might otherwise be considered waste. Start at the bottom of the bunch and chop super small slices up to where the leaves start. Save the leaves for garnishing and for where the "beauty" matters as much as the taste.
  4. Consider grating the lime peel, as well as using the juice, to enhance the lime flavor. It's exquisite.
  5. Be careful with the cumin. Add more if you want, but be mindful that cumin can quickly overpower so don't be too zealous with it.
Keyword fresh salsa, restaurant style salsa, salsa, tomato salsa
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