Even though this is a recipe, salsa doesn’t have a recipe. Salsa has suggestions. You can freely substitute in and out whatever you want. Mine is hot, yours doesn’t have to be. This makes a quart.
2 lbs of tomatoes, give or take; I used 2 1/4 lbs. Only use Romas if you can find good ones.
1/2 lbs poblanos; 2 big peppers was about 3/4 lbs, so that’s what I used.
5 decent sized habaneros; you can use more or fewer, or use more or fewer jalapeños or serranos.
5-7 garlic cloves, depending on how much you like garlic; I used 7 large.
1 white onion, quartered; use a medium one. Yellow onions are stronger, use them if you want.
A big chunk of cilantro. Leave it out if you don’t like it.
Juice of 2 limes, plus zest. I used 1 1/2 limes, because I had a half cut already from guac a couple days ago and didn’t want to cut another one. It was fine. (2 would have been fine, too.)
Salt to taste. I used about a Tablespoon.
Heat the broiler. (You can also do this outdoors over a charcoal grill or gas grill. My experience is that there’s little difference. If it’s nice out use the grill, if it’s cold or rainy, use the oven.) Prepare a sheet pan with foil. Roast everything under the broiler until it’s all brown. Peel the skin off the poblanos, it is bitter; you can leave the skin on the tomatoes and the habaneros (or whatever other peppers you used). Roasted tomato skins aren’t bitter and give the salsa a nice rustic appeal.
(Photo is from a different cook, shown only for instruction. Imaging habaneros in place of the serranos.)
I did the next two steps separately for the way I wanted mine to look. You can absolutely purée everything together, or chop everything to the same consistency. Or purée half and chop half, leaving some smooth sauce and some tomato chunks.
Put the tomatoes and garlic in a blender and purée them until smooth; this is going to be the base of your salsa. Pour the purée into a wide, deep skillet, add salt to your liking, and set it on simmer. This will be the base.
Take the habaneros, peeled poblanos, and onions, and chop them coarsely in a food processor. Then add that to the purée on the stovetop. This will be the chunkiness. Let this simmer and reduce to your desired consistency. That will depend on your tomatoes; some are juicier, others are fleshier.
Mine came out this color because I used heirloom tomatoes, and one of them was an orange sunset, and another was a pink brandywine. Don’t use crappy tomatoes; if you do, your salsa will be crappy and you will have wasted your time. (I learned that from doing it.) Canned tomatoes work lots better than crappy fresh ones. You can skip the roasting of the canned tomatoes, of course.
When the salsa has reached the consistency you want, chop the cilantro and add it. Zest and juice the lime and add it. These are the brightness; you don’t want to simmer them, that will kill their flavor. Just stir them in.
Taste it. Adjust as needed. You can microwave a quarter onion, a bit of poblano, etc, you can add lime or cilantro, you can use granulated garlic, etc. Anything that makes it taste good is fine. Then let it cool. If you’re not using it right away, you can preserve it, using the boiling water method.
This salsa is maybe my favorite I’ve made so far. It’s really delicious.
But SALSA DOESN'T NEED A RECIPE. You can do this exact same process with tomatillos instead of tomatoes; bell peppers or Anaheims or Hatch instead of poblanos; serranos or jalapeños or reapers instead of habaneros; you can use anchos or guajillos or pasillas, and arbols, all reconstituted instead of broiled, and with or without tomatoes or tomatillos. You can add chipotles. Just make salsa!
2 lbs of tomatoes, give or take; I used 2 1/4 lbs. Only use Romas if you can find good ones.
1/2 lbs poblanos; 2 big peppers was about 3/4 lbs, so that’s what I used.
5 decent sized habaneros; you can use more or fewer, or use more or fewer jalapeños or serranos.
5-7 garlic cloves, depending on how much you like garlic; I used 7 large.
1 white onion, quartered; use a medium one. Yellow onions are stronger, use them if you want.
A big chunk of cilantro. Leave it out if you don’t like it.
Juice of 2 limes, plus zest. I used 1 1/2 limes, because I had a half cut already from guac a couple days ago and didn’t want to cut another one. It was fine. (2 would have been fine, too.)
Salt to taste. I used about a Tablespoon.
Heat the broiler. (You can also do this outdoors over a charcoal grill or gas grill. My experience is that there’s little difference. If it’s nice out use the grill, if it’s cold or rainy, use the oven.) Prepare a sheet pan with foil. Roast everything under the broiler until it’s all brown. Peel the skin off the poblanos, it is bitter; you can leave the skin on the tomatoes and the habaneros (or whatever other peppers you used). Roasted tomato skins aren’t bitter and give the salsa a nice rustic appeal.
(Photo is from a different cook, shown only for instruction. Imaging habaneros in place of the serranos.)
I did the next two steps separately for the way I wanted mine to look. You can absolutely purée everything together, or chop everything to the same consistency. Or purée half and chop half, leaving some smooth sauce and some tomato chunks.
Put the tomatoes and garlic in a blender and purée them until smooth; this is going to be the base of your salsa. Pour the purée into a wide, deep skillet, add salt to your liking, and set it on simmer. This will be the base.
Take the habaneros, peeled poblanos, and onions, and chop them coarsely in a food processor. Then add that to the purée on the stovetop. This will be the chunkiness. Let this simmer and reduce to your desired consistency. That will depend on your tomatoes; some are juicier, others are fleshier.
Mine came out this color because I used heirloom tomatoes, and one of them was an orange sunset, and another was a pink brandywine. Don’t use crappy tomatoes; if you do, your salsa will be crappy and you will have wasted your time. (I learned that from doing it.) Canned tomatoes work lots better than crappy fresh ones. You can skip the roasting of the canned tomatoes, of course.
When the salsa has reached the consistency you want, chop the cilantro and add it. Zest and juice the lime and add it. These are the brightness; you don’t want to simmer them, that will kill their flavor. Just stir them in.
Taste it. Adjust as needed. You can microwave a quarter onion, a bit of poblano, etc, you can add lime or cilantro, you can use granulated garlic, etc. Anything that makes it taste good is fine. Then let it cool. If you’re not using it right away, you can preserve it, using the boiling water method.
This salsa is maybe my favorite I’ve made so far. It’s really delicious.
But SALSA DOESN'T NEED A RECIPE. You can do this exact same process with tomatillos instead of tomatoes; bell peppers or Anaheims or Hatch instead of poblanos; serranos or jalapeños or reapers instead of habaneros; you can use anchos or guajillos or pasillas, and arbols, all reconstituted instead of broiled, and with or without tomatoes or tomatillos. You can add chipotles. Just make salsa!
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