# Homemade Salsas



## JCook (Aug 11, 2006)

I was wondering if anyone can help me with a recipe for a red salsa and a green salsa. I have tried a couple of red salsas before and they never turn out to good. Thanks.


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## pdswife (Aug 11, 2006)

Here is one that we like...


2  avocados, large and slightly firm, diced
2  tomatos, large firm, diced
1 jalapenos, seeded  and diced
1  white onion, medium-size, diced
1 small clove garlic diced
2 pinches salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cilantro
Directions:
Mix all of the above  together and serve at once. Plan ahead to use it all, as this salsa will not keep.


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## mugsy27 (Aug 11, 2006)

hands down...the BEST and easiest salsa i have ever made!!

Tomato and Pineapple Salsa Fresca: 
1 pound ripe tomatoes (about 3 medium), roughly chopped 
1 (14.5-ounce) can pineapple pieces, juice strained 
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped 
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely minced  
3 scallions, finely sliced into 1/8-inch rounds 
1 lime, juiced 
2 pinches superfine sugar 
Kosher salt  In a medium bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, pineapple, garlic, jalapeno and scallions. Mix well. Add lime juice, sugar, and salt, to taste. Toss well. Serve with the Chicken Empanadas.


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## mugsy27 (Aug 11, 2006)

and just incase anyone wants the recipe for the chicken empanadas...here ya go!!

For the filling:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 1/2 cups finely shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 package prepared puff pastry
Flour, for rolling out pastry
About 1/4 cup vegetable oil, for brushing
Tomato and Pineapple Salsa Fresca, recipe follows

Filling:
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Saute onions and garlic until onions are soft and translucent, 

about 4 minutes. Add spices, stir to mix fully, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add black beans and chicken and season 

with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until black beans are heated through, about 5 minutes, then remove from heat 

and let mixture cool fully. Add cilantro and stir well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay out a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Flour the top of the dough and roll out the puff 

pastry until it is about 1/16-inch thick and about 12 inches by 16 inches.
Trim edges to size, if necessary. Cut 4-inch strips crosswise and lengthwise making 12 (4 by 4-inch) squares. Make 

sure the squares are well floured and stack them in a little pile.

To form empanadas:
Fill a little dish with some room temperature water. Imagine each square you work with is separated in half by a 

diagonal. Place a couple tablespoons of filling in the top half. Dip a finger into the water and moisten the edges 

of the top half with water. Fold the bottom half to meet the edges of the top half. Use a fork to pinch and seal 

the edges. Lightly brush the tops with vegetable oil. Place finished pockets on a nonstick baking sheet and bake 

about 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.


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## jennyema (Aug 11, 2006)

-I usually make mine with a can of good quality chopped tomatoes or a few tomatoes from my garden (never the supermarket).

a half of a small onion, one jalepeno, 2-3 cloves of garlic.  Heat cast iron skillet to smoking and *roast* these ingredients until charred on the outside then cool.

Dump roasted stuff into food processor.  Add half the maters, a handful of chopped cilantro and the juice of one lime.  Salt, black pepper, Penzey's adobo seasoning and a pinch of sauzon Goya.  

Whirl for about 20 seconds.  Check for seasoning. Add the rest of the tomatoes and whirl only briefly so that some of the maters are chunky.  Check seasoning.


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## phu (Aug 11, 2006)

I am a huge fan of blended salsa... my green salsa gets its color from cilantro rather than tomatillos.  Also, roasting your ingredients is a great way to get some new flavors in your salsa.

3-4 plum tomatoes, quartered and seeded
1 bn cilantro
2-4 habaneros, halved and seeded
- or 3-5 jalapenos for less heat
1 med yellow onion, quartered
4-6 cloves garlic
3-4 T lime juice

Combine half at a time in blender; blend until smooth.

To roast your ingredients, place the tomatoes and onion on a broiling pan and broil for about 10 minutes, or until the skins brown and blister.  If you bake your garlic as well, it's a good idea to include a clove or two of raw garlic, or you lose their kick altogether.

While roasting the chiles will produce a nice taste, it will also seriously reduce their heat.  Using raw habaneros as well as roasted jalapenos is a decent combination.


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## Hopz (Aug 11, 2006)

I can highly recommend my salsa fresca.. fresh salsa... it is simple, easy, tasty, and quick. It is also much like a pico de gallo, but not as sharp.

I don't have a real recipe- I just make it....

3-5 fully ripe tomatoes- skins removed- (cut "X" in the end of the tomato, drop into boiling water- wait no more then 20 seconds- plunge in cold water- peel off skin)

cut the tomato in half and remove the seeds and gel-like interior.

dice the cleaned tomato medium.
1-2-3 or more jalapenos, depending on taste, medium dice- seeds removed if you like.
lots of cilantro- 
meat of green bell pepper- medium dice.
Onion- for 3 or 4 medium tomatoes I use a half of medium onion.
a good squeeze of lime...salt... fresh pepper.

that's it... did I mention lots of cilantro?

and next- this is a salsa I call Fire and Ice- wonderful on grilled salmon.
jalapeno, onion, cilantro, bell pepper (if you are making a large quantity- it is cool to use different colors of peppers- lke yellow, orange and green), tomato, lime juice and watermelon...!


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## karadekoolaid (Aug 11, 2006)

RED Salsa

5-6 very ripe red tomatoes
1 red jalapeño, seeds and vein removed if you don't like it too hot
1 tsp tomato paste
1 small red onion, finely diced 
Fresh lime juice
a pinch of cumin
1 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

Dice the tomatoes and place in a bowl. finely chop the jalapeño ( I sometimes get lazy and dump it into the blender with a little of the tomato and the tomato paste...) and add to the tomatoes. add the diced red onion, all the other ingredients, and a tsp of salt. Mix together, then taste. depending on my mood, or salt/acid deficiency/surfeit, I add more salt or lime.Mostly, I add more chilli...

For the green version, use green tomatoes or, even better, tomatillos. Green onion, a little roasted green pepper and serrano chiles.


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## SierraCook (Aug 11, 2006)

Coincidentally, I just bought the ingredients yesteday to make Salsa Verde. I have not tried this recipe, but I will let you know how it turns out tomorrow.  I bought 3 pasilla chiles for the large green chiles. 

*Salsa Verde*

12-15 tomatillos, husks removed, quartered 
5 cloves of garlic 
1 medium white or yellow onion, skin removed, coarsely chopped 
1 bunch cilantro 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon vegetable oil 
1 jalapeno, seeds removed 
3 large green chiles, roasted and skins removed 
1 tablespoon lime juice

Add onions, jalapeño and tomatillos into a food processor and pulse 4-5 times. Add in remaining ingredients and pulse until desired consistency. Salsa verde can be served immediately, but is better when it sits in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors meld.


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## JCook (Aug 11, 2006)

Thanks everyone, I can't wait to try these salsas.


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## buckytom (Aug 11, 2006)

cliveb said:
			
		

> RED Salsa
> 
> 5-6 very ripe red tomatoes
> 1 red jalapeño, seeds and vein removed if you don't like it too hot
> ...


 
cliveb, i am going to make this tomorrow. i harvested some nice tomatoes and jalapenos from the garden today, so i'm looking for ways to use them asap. thanks for posting this.

also, mugsy, the pineapple one sounds great. have some fresh golden pnieaple chiilin' in the ice box, so i'll give that one a go as well. thanks.


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## corazon (Aug 11, 2006)

cliveb - I make mine pretty much like yours but add red chile powder for extra spice.  I also dice an avocado and throw it in before serving.


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## Constance (Aug 12, 2006)

I can't give you any exact measurements, because I improvise as I go along, but here's my basic recipe:

tomatoes, chopped
green peppers, chopped
jalapeno, diced...if I don't have fresh, I use jarred ones
onions, chopped
garlic, diced
chopped fresh basil (we don't like cilantro)
salt, pepper
chili powder
cumin 
El Patio Mexican style tomato sauce (small yellow can with big kick!)

Once you get all your vegies chopped and mixed up, start seasoning, a little at a time, until it tastes good. You need to spice rather heavily, as tomatoes will soak up a lot of seasoning. 
The El Patio Sauce is what really makes the salsa, but go easy on it, or you'll be needing a fire extinguisher! 
Let the salsa stand in the fridge so flavors can meld.

*Note: Sometimes I add a little balsamic vinegar to the mix...depends on how sweet and flavorful the tomatoes are.


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## Constance (Aug 12, 2006)

I notice that you all use either lemon or lime juice in your salsa. I'm I missing something here?


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## karadekoolaid (Aug 12, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> cliveb, i am going to make this tomorrow. thanks for posting this.


 
You're very welcome!


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## karadekoolaid (Aug 12, 2006)

corazon90 said:
			
		

> cliveb - I make mine pretty much like yours but add red chile powder for extra spice. I also dice an avocado and throw it in before serving.


 
Well I didn't want to go mad with the hot stuff for public consumption... but I'll confess that I always add another couple of chiles to mine!! The hotter, the better!

Hey, love that avocado touch. Mmm!


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## Constance (Aug 12, 2006)

I getting ready to get up in a bit, and make some salsa. I'm going to add the lemon juice to it, since y'all seem to use citrus of some kind. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Kim has taken his hot-rod Chevy truck to a car show tonight, and won't be back until about 9:00 PM. We have leftover calzones, so I don't have to deal with supper. 
I have the evening to myself. That's kinda nice sometimes.


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## SierraCook (Aug 12, 2006)

I made the Salsa Verde today. I added an additional jalapeno pepper, because I like my salsa hot. This salsa turned out good with a lot of flavor and a nice medium consistency. I processed mine in the food processor for a bit longer than the recipe required because I did not want the salsa to be too thick. It made 4-5 cups of salsa.


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## Dina (Aug 12, 2006)

How about a simple but tasty salsa with a chipotle kick?
4 plum tomatoes, quartered and seeded
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 serrano peppers, chopped and seeded
2 chipotles in adobe sauce, chopped
1/2 med onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp lemon or lime juice

If you like a chunky salsa, mix all the chopped veggies together (it will be called pico de gallo). If you like a smooth texture, puree in blender and cook for 10 minutes in a bit of olive oil. Enjoy!


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## shannon in KS (Aug 13, 2006)

I cheat, and mix fresh with canned.  I don't like a cooked down version.  I use one can diced tomatoes, one can ro-tel, then add diced fresh, garden tomatoes to desired consistency, with chopped garlic, onion and cilantro.  There is a little restaurant here in Oz called Totos Tacoz, and their green salsa is ADDICTIVE.  All they will tell me is tomatillos.....


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## Constance (Aug 13, 2006)

I got my salsa made last night, and it turned out great. The son-in-law and two of the boys just left, and showed their approval by stuffing their mouths full and going, "Mmm....MMMMM!" DH said the same. 
I served it with Ranch Dip on the side, to cool the palate between bites, but it's really not all that hot...it doesn't slam you with a blast. It just has a nice depth of flavor and a good after-bite. 

I highly recommend the El Patio tomato sauce. The contents listed are: tomato puree, water, chiles, onions, garlic, salt and spices. 
When I open a can, I pour it into a Good Season's salad dressing bottle, so I can dispense it a little at a time. It's some kick-butt stuff, and really cheap.

My future daughter-in-law is Mexican, and grew up in Mexico City, where her mother had a small restaurant. She cooked a couple of meals for us last time she was here. I had her look through my pantry before she went to the store, in case I had some of the things she needed. She found a can of the El Patio, grinned, and said, "Ah!" 
One 7-3/4 oz can ended up being enough for two meals for four.


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## JCook (Aug 15, 2006)

Thanks everyone for your recipes. I came up with a red salsa by combining different ingredients from a few recipes. I just made the salsa tonight and it was so good, first try too!!!  It's not really spicy hot, so maybe next time if I wanted it to be more spicy I could add more peppers. Here's what I came up with. 

Red Salsa

2 tomatillos
8 Roma tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 serrano pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
1/2 med white onion, quarted
2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/4 cup cilantro 
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper
juice of 1 lime

Place all the vegetable in a roasting pan under the broil in the oven. Roast until charred all around. Let the veg. cool. Then add everything in a blender. Pulse at first to get the tomatoes going, then blend until everthing is finely chopped. 

***I did take out the seeds of the peppers because I was not sure how hot it would be. Next time I probably won't and I may also add another pepper.


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