Written by Kate Tietje
You know that delicious, thin, flavorful salsa that they serve in good Mexican restaurants? I love that. I can’t eat in Mexican restaurants because they have corn and soy in everything, which can’t be avoided. Sadly. But there’s nothing wrong with the salsa…I just don’t ever get any. Then I thought, why not make my own?
In 2010, I was searching for a perfect salsa recipe for canning, but I had the wrong thing in mind. Instead of thinking of this delicious Mexican salsa that I love, I thought of typical jarred salsa. I looked up some recipes on the Internet that people said were popular. I tried them out. I was very unimpressed. I should know by now that most of the time…other peoples’ recipes don’t quite work out for me. There’s nothing wrong with them; I just apparently have unique tastes. 🙂
In 2012, I wanted to can salsa again, and I’d just had a little bit of that Mexican salsa (served with a quesadilla at a local organic restaurant, if you’re curious), and it reminded me that that was what I wanted to go for. So, I set into my kitchen with 54 lbs. of tomatoes and used some of them to make a small batch of salsa. My thought process was if it came out “okay,” I’d have a few pints to eat up through the year, and that would be it. If it came out great, I’d make more batches. Long story short, I made more batches.
Recipe Collection: Mexican Salsa
Ingredients:
- 4 quarts tomato puree (about 8 – 10 lbs. of tomatoes)
- 6 – 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 – 3 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. sea salt (I used my Real Salt)
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1 – 3 tbsp. minced jalapeno
- Juice of 1 lime
Directions:
Step 1: Start with fresh tomatoes. Quarter them and remove their cores; add them to a blender.
Step 2: Blend on low. Roughly puree it, leaving some small chunks (or to the texture of your choice).
Step 3: Pour into a large pot and turn this on medium-high. Let it come to a boil. It will get all foamy and bubbly.
Step 4: Once the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and the foam has cleared, add garlic, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt.
Step 5: Allow the salsa to simmer for 30 minutes, then taste and adjust the jalapeno amount, depending on your spice preference.
Step 6: When the salsa is done, scoop it into a clean pint jar with a ladle. Add a lid and ring. Place your finished jars into a canning pot.
Step 7: Fill with water and process for 20 – 25 minutes.
Then your salsa is done! Allow it to cool before putting it away. This should make 5 – 6 pints, depending on how much you let it cook down. I like to keep mine a bit on the thinner side.
If you do not want to can it, keep it in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for up to 6 months.
This looks fantastic! I’ve always wanted a recipe for mexican restaurant salsa. Thank you so much! 🙂
We do a similar kind of salsa too, but also add red bell peppers and hot spicy peppers… gives it a nice kick.
Di you not peel the tomatoes?
Nope…too lazy. 🙂 And it doesn’t matter in the final recipe.
[…] you see Thursday’s Mexican Salsa post? Super awesome […]
[…] Mexican Salsa : Modern Alternative Mama […]
Yum! I made a batch of this today and it’s fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
This looks so delicious!
Stop by my blog Friday for the next edition of the Carnival of Home Preserving! Would love to have you by and link up this post or other great preserving posts of yours.
Trying this today! 😀 Do you think it would work to not peel the tomatoes and chop them in the blender like this for spaghetti sauce, or would you have to peel them?
Love this! Looks delicious! Will have to go on my to-do list for sure, thanks:)
Ok 1.) Why do you need to boil them, in that pot?
and 2.) How do you have your pot set up? Is there a rack under the jars?
It needs to be cooked ahead of time so that the flavors are blended and you can taste it and make sure it’s how you want before canning. With the big pot for canning, I have a quilted hot pad under them instead of a rack. I never bought a rack because the hot pads work just fine. You need something under the jars but it can be as simple as a kitchen towel (I have not broken a jar in 3 years! So it must be okay, lol). I have some posts on the water bath method that explain my equipment in more detail.
[…] (we have a lot of frozen fruit, just pair it with yogurt and the bottled organic juices). We have canned salsa on hand which we can pair with quesadillas. We will also have potatoes for easy oven fries to […]
[…] eaten fresh — simply plain, or added to a salad — tossed with pasta, made into sauce, salsa, juice, or added to soups and chilis. They can be preserved in any of their cooked forms. We […]
[…] It’s sort of thin, with lots of flavor. I played around in the kitchen and came up with a recipe I love. It includes tomatoes, cilantro, lime, garlic, onion, and salt. I could buy salsa that I like […]
[…] cheap if cooked from dry), raw cheese, real sour cream, salsa (get organic cheap at Costco or make your own), lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and so on. Make it a salad if you prefer; it can be customized to […]
[…] 8 – 10 pints salsa (here’s my recipe) […]
Trying this will the gazillion organic garden tomatoes we have. I’m a TX girl and picky about my salsa, too. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I just made this, it turned out fantastic…
[…] Mexican Salsa […]
[…] It’s sort of thin, with lots of flavor. I played around in the kitchen and came up with a recipe I love. It includes tomatoes, cilantro, lime, garlic, onion, and salt. I could buy salsa that I like […]