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Salsa Delicioso

What you need: 

1 - 28 ounce whole stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use 1/4 tsp, but I often like less salt than most folks)
Juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 serrano pepper (sub 1/4 serrano or 1/8 of a green bell pepper, if you don't like spicy)
1/4 medium red onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

What you do: 

I make this in a food processor, and it's really fast and easy. If you aren't using one, the prep time goes up, but the result is just as yummy. I'll give directions both ways.
With a food processor:
1) Let tomatoes drain while you chop garlic and juice 1/2 lime. Slice serrano pepper into rings, being careful not to touch anything but the outside of the pepper (wash hands anyway after slicing it, to avoid skin irritation). I don't like de-seeding hot peppers, since it's so much easier to just coarsely chop & toss them into the processor. Half of a serrano does make a pretty spicy salsa (delightfully so, to me!); so if you're not sure you love spicy, either de-seed the serrano, use 1/4 instead of 1/2 of the serrano pepper, or substitute bell pepper.
2) Quarter or coarsely chop onion (& bell pepper, if you're using that substitution). Add onion, pepper, & garlic to food processor container, and pulse about 5 times, scraping down sides between pulses. Add 3 of the whole tomatoes, and repeat pulsing (scraping down sides as needed) until the serrano pepper appears to be finely diced, with no large pieces of pepper visible (if using bell pepper, this step is less important... just whirl it a bit til the onion is chopped). Then add all the rest of the ingredients, and pulse 2-3 more times until it's blended but still chunky... don't overdo it! It just takes a very few pulses; more makes a texture more like picante sauce than salsa. When you've got it blended but still chunky, transfer to non-reactive bowl and refrigerate.
For preparation by hand:
Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid for another use. Mince garlic (it needs to be more finely chopped than if it were going into the processor), and chop other veggies coarsely or finely, depending on whether you want chunkier or smoother salsa. Wear gloves if possible while dicing the serrano. Otherwise it's hard to finely dice hot peppers by hand without burning your fingertips (at least it's hard for me)... you can also try using a fork to hold the pepper still while you slice it in strips, around the tines; then use the back of the fork to hold the strips down while you dice them. Combine chopped tomato, onion, pepper, & cilantro in a large non-reactive bowl. Add lime juice, cumin, salt, and oil, and mix well.
3) Whichever preparation method you use, chill salsa at least an hour before serving, for best flavor. (I usually can't manage to follow my own advice here, it's so tasty I feel I have to eat it right away...but it really is even better after the flavors blend for awhile!)
Enjoy!
Source of recipe: I came up with this recipe for when I don't have fresh tomatoes, but still want fresh salsa.

Preparation Time: 
15 minutes
Cooking Time: 
Servings: 
Recipe Category: 

SO HOW'D IT GO?

This is very delicious! Although I do tend to like a slightly chunkier salsa and I find the tomatoes (I use fresh tomatoes) make this a little sloppy so I put half the inital processed foods in a bowl, ad the tomatoes to the remaining mixture, whip it around and then stir it all back together and viola! Extra chunky salsa!!

 

Thanks a mill for the recipe!!

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dude lady, you are a freakin genius!!! this is SUCH A GOOD RECIPE MY MIND IS BLOWN... seriously, salsa with canned tomatoes, i thought wtf is this lady smokin?!

even with my total lack of supplies this still worked amazingly!

used petite diced tomatoes instead of stewed, i ended up finding 1/4 a red onion in my fridge (SCORE), used garlic powder instead of fresh (have no idea how much, accidentally dumped more than i meant to cause the cap fell off but still so so good!), fresh jalapeno instead of serrano (2 fatty ones not seeded cause i like spice), and left out the oil cause it just seemed unnecessary, didn't have cilantro... my new go to recipe... bi buv boo HCM <3

5 stars... this is genius 

Yaaaaaaaaaay!!! You have made me smile today... Glad you like it! :) :) :)

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dude lady, you are a freakin genius!!! this is SUCH A GOOD RECIPE MY MIND IS BLOWN... seriously, salsa with canned tomatoes, i thought wtf is this lady smokin?!

even with my total lack of supplies this still worked amazingly!

used petite diced tomatoes instead of stewed, i ended up finding 1/4 a red onion in my fridge (SCORE), used garlic powder instead of fresh (have no idea how much, accidentally dumped more than i meant to cause the cap fell off but still so so good!), fresh jalapeno instead of serrano (2 fatty ones not seeded cause i like spice), and left out the oil cause it just seemed unnecessary, didn't have cilantro... my new go to recipe... bi buv boo HCM <3

5 stars... this is genius 

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if i used canned diced tomatoes would it still be good? i'm in serious lack of funds and food...

i also don't have garlic (but have garlic powder), no cilantro (have coriander though?!), white onion not red, fresh jalepenos instead of serannos...

what do you think with my lack of supplies? do-able or no?

Doable! but it won't need as much blending... chop the jalapenos smallish (carefully!), put 'em in the processor with the onion and like 1/4 can of the tomatoes... then when the onion & pepper are diced small, just dump it in a bowl, mix with the rest of the chopped tomatoes & other stuff... not sure how much garlic power would be equivalent, but you could just sprinkle to taste... that's what I'd try, anyway. You can just leave out the cilantro-- coriander might make a nice Caribbean-style salsa flavor, but I wouldn't use it before sprinkling it on 1 bite or something to try it out/ not sure if it'd be good or not (if you try it and it's good, please report back!)... I think if you pulsed the tomatoes per original recipe, starting with chopped tomatoes, you'd get more of a picante sauce texture than salsa... but it should definitely be doable. :)

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if i used canned diced tomatoes would it still be good? i'm in serious lack of funds and food...

i also don't have garlic (but have garlic powder), no cilantro (have coriander though?!), white onion not red, fresh jalepenos instead of serannos...

what do you think with my lack of supplies? do-able or no?

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I finally got around to making this.  It is better then store bought salsa and much cheaper.  I forgot to buy cilantro so I did not add it.  Also, I used a jalapeno instead of the Serrano pepper.  It is a keep.  :)>>>  Thank you for posting the recipe.

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Okay, thanks! Can't wait to make this!

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Apparently some acidic foods like tomatoes can interact with metals or some plastics... like when you take tomato soup for lunch in tupperware, and it leaves a stain in the bowl? The reason is that the acid makes the molecules of the food and the container interact... I don't know how big a deal this is with plastics, but if you put acidic foods in a metal dish for a while it definitely changes the flavor for the worse; & just in case (cause I'm not sure I want any plastic molecules as seasoning, either!) I like to store tomato-based stuff in glass or ceramic dishes... it may be that it's not a problem with the thicker/ harder plastics, I'm not sure. If you don't have glass or ceramic I wouldn't sweat it, just don't use metal...

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Finally a salsa recipe that looks like the kind I eat. I plan on making this when I get a chance. Question though: non-reactive bowl? What do you mean by that? I didn't know food could react to bowls.  :-\

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