Printer-friendly versionIt's time for the Taste Creations monthly blog hop, and this month, our ingredient of the month was tomatoes. I don't really like tomatoes, actually, so this was a bit of a challenge, but then I realized that I could make salsa! I do like salsa!
My friend Naz had raved about Pioneer Woman's salsa recipe, and it looked really easy, so I decided to give it a whirl for myself. I've made a few small tweaks to suit my own taste over the years, but the basics remain the same.
If you're looking for an authentic salsa verde recipe, this one is absolutely delicious and so easy!
Restaurant Style Salsa Ingredients:
- 1 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
- 2 10 ounce cans of Rotel or more canned tomatoes and a can of new mexico green chilis
- half an onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Jalapeno, quartered and seeded
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- cilantro to taste
- Juice of one half to one whole lime (I always end up using at least one whole lime--sometimes more!)
If my friend Naz ever tells you something about food, believe her. She has absolutely magnificent taste and opinions and ideas. So when she suggested buying whole cumin seeds, and toasting them, and grinding them myself, I listened. I already know what an amazing difference it makes to toast and grind my own sesame seeds, and to grind my own cardamom, so it made sense that toasting and grinding my own cumin would make a similarly significant difference. She was so right. (Not that I ever doubted.)
Toast the cumin seeds over high heat in a dry pan (no oil). Stir the seeds around, or shake the pan, so that the seeds heat evenly. After a few minutes, you'll notice them turning a golden brown color, and about the same time, you'll hear a few small pops, like itty bitty popcorn. Take the toasted cumin off the heat, and grind it in a mortar and pestle.
Pioneer Woman just dumped all the ingredients in her food processor, but she clearly has a larger one than my Cuisinart original. It looked like the stuff all fit in mine, so I thought, "If it fits, I blitz." Yeah, that was a very wet and messy mistake. If you have a Cuisinart original food processor, blend up the stuff in batches, and stir it together in a bowl.
Despite the mess I made, the salsa was incredibly easy and fast to make, and absolutely delicious. I was once in the middle of making salsa and realized that I had no fresh jalapeno peppers, and no limes (major fail!). But I did have ground chili pepper and Tajin seasoning and it made quite a good salsa! I'll bet if you used homemade tajin like this tajin recipe it would be even better!
Really, really delicious. And it made a BIG batch. I'm going to have to see how well it freezes now.
I'm pretty sure I'm never buying jarred salsa again. Thank you Naz and Pioneer Woman!
Be sure to check out the other fabulous tomato recipes from my friends in the Taste Creations blog hop, too:
An Italian In my Kitchen: Easy Double Cheese Grilled Tomato Eggplant Stacks
Mom Home Guide: Southwestern Chicken, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
Our Good Life: Tomato Cobbler
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