How to Make Salsa from Scratch

Salsa essentially means 'sauce' in Spanish. Salsa is a condiment that is made when you concoct onions, tomatoes, garlic, fresh cilantro, salt and hot peppers. To add twist and twang to the sauce, vinegar or lemon juice do the trick. Salsa has many different purposes to serve. The most basic and rudimentary reason to have salsa made was to preserve tomatoes with delectable fervor. The nutrition value was also well-preserved. The seasoning to foods was a bonus to the inherent flavors to all dishes. In the recent times, the sauce shares a good rapport when paired with chips. It is also a popular condiment with Mexican cuisine and serves to be an appetizer with Spanish dishes.

Salsa sauce is made in restaurants in different ways. The flavors that a restaurant elicits in salsa are unique in itself. Some restaurants like to roast the tomatoes, some like to saute the onions and add hot peppers and jalapeno to enhance the flavors. Some restaurants also play around with the texture of the salsa and make it all the more chunky and juicy while others prefer to have the salsa smooth and saucy. However, when you have a homemade salsa recipe to concoct, why depend on the restaurant to have their own ways of serving salsa. A homemade salsa has a delightful flavor of its own and what more do you want, when salsa plays partner to your favorite tortilla chips. Lifting a bottle of salsa sauce from a super store is not quite the same as making salsa all by yourself. Now that is enough of temptation to lure you in! You play the chef and let your kitchen be the witness for this very scintillating dip.

Making Salsa Sauce

Recipe #1

Ingredients

• 12 fresh or canned tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt, pepper and hot sauce (if need be).

Directions

1. To begin with, make a fine paste of tomatoes.
2. Now, chop garlic and onion.
3. Side by side, take a pan and pour the olive oil and heat the pan.
4. Add the garlic and onion and cook them on low flame.
5. Add the tomato paste when the onions start to brown.
6. Add salt and pepper and one tsp of basil and oregano and let the mixture cook for some time.
7. You are free to add hot sauce, if you feel the need.
8. If the consistency does not turn out to be the way you expected it to be, you can add more tomatoes and make the sauce thicker.
9. You can now jump over and enjoy the salsa sauce.

Recipe #2

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white onions, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic finely chopped
• 4 cups tomatoes, without seeds and finely diced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper diced
• Freshly squeezed lime juice; 1 tbsp
• Salt as per your requirements

Directions

1. The first step is to blend all ingredients in a large bowl. You are free to add salt and pepper at your own discretion.
2. You can either serve it fresh or have the salsa sauce stored and preserved in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Now serve the salsa sauce with fries or your favorite snack to munch on.

Making Salsa with Fresh Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 3 fresh tomatoes
• Freshly squeezed lime juice; 1 tbsp
• 1 Jalapeno chili pepper
• 1 Serrano chili pepper
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop the tomatoes and add chillies in the bowl. Make sure that the tomatoes are finely chopped.
2. Place all ingredients in a bowl.
3. Now, let the mixture stand for sometime and give the ingredients adequate condition and time to marinade.
4. Serve the sauce with tortilla chips or tacos. Enjoy the assorted flavors.

So with these recipes to make salsa, you are sure to have your kitchen equipped for your guests round the clock. The most drab and boring meals can be dashed on with life with salsa sauce.

P.S. - You are bound to have guests pouring in. Beware!