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Spicy Restaurant Style Salsa

spicy restaurant style salsa

Welcome to the October 16th, 2016 edition of Sunday Scratchups: Your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery sales and affordable ingredients. This week many of us picked up cheap canned tomatoes and tortilla chips, making this a great time for a big batch of spicy restaurant style salsa. (Well… ANY time is really a great time for a big batch of spicy restaurant style salsa, but this is a wonderful excuse, don’t you think?)

bowl-of-salsa

To make this easy restaurant style salsa recipe, you just throw all ten ingredients in your food processor and then chill the salsa in your refrigerator for half an hour to let the flavors meld. How simple is that?

Note: This recipe makes a LOT of salsa, but leftovers will keep tightly covered in the fridge for a few days, or scratch up a batch to feed a big group at your next party or BBQ.

Spicy Restaurant Style Salsa

salsa-ingredients

Ingredients

2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen recommended, because yum)
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 jalapeño pepper, cut in chunks (remove seeds or use half if you like a milder salsa)
Juice of one lime
One small onion, cut in chunks
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp minced garlic
Sea salt, to taste

Directions

OK, this recipe is a little tricky, but I think you guys can handle it. 😉 Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until salsa is at your desired consistency. Taste, and add a little more salt if desired. Remove to a separate container and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour to let flavors blend.

Enjoy with tortilla chips or another salsa-scooping food of choice!

Note: Be sure to pulse and not just leave this processing — because it combines quickly and you don’t want to end up with salsa soup, lol.

Easy peasy lime juice squeezy

restaurant-style-salsa-bowl

Y-U-M. I’m a sucker for a good salsa, and isn’t the best part of going out to a Mexican restaurant the fresh chips and salsa they bring out to your table? Now you can enjoy this easy restaurant style salsa at home, anytime. This homemade salsa recipe is on the hotter side, so if you prefer yours milder you can seed the jalapeño and/or use just half a pepper.

Spicy Restaurant Style Salsa, printable recipe

Spicy Restaurant Style Salsa

Course condiment
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes Muir Glen recommended, because yum
  • 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1 jalapeño pepper cut in chunks (remove seeds or use half if you like a milder salsa)
  • Juice of one lime
  • One small onion cut in chunks
  • 1/2 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp minced garlic
  • Sea salt to taste

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until salsa is at your desired consistency.
  • Taste, and add a little more salt if desired.
  • Remove to a separate container and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour to let flavors blend.
  • Enjoy with tortilla chips or another salsa-scooping food of choice!

Notes

Note: Be sure to pulse and not just leave this processing -- because it combines quickly and you don't want to end up with salsa soup, lol.

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Recipe Rating




christine

Wednesday 19th of October 2016

I made salsa this week too! I added cilantro and I had bought a can of diced tomatoes with habenero peppers from Aldi. (If you find the cans at Aldi snag one- they are so good in chili and salsa! My salsa was decidedly spicy, but not crazy hot with the habenero tomatoes! Everyone loved it. My kids don't care for cilantro too much so I went easy. it just made it taste fresh. Thanks for the inspiration.

Jane

Wednesday 19th of October 2016

*Oh, I also added in all the zest from the lime because I love that even more than cilantro!

rachel

Wednesday 19th of October 2016

Oh nice, I think I'll try adding in some lime zest next time too! So glad you liked it. I didn't drain the tomatoes, but you easily could though if you wanted it more chunky. Also I think the fire roasted garden tomatoes might be a bit more watery than the canned -- I usually use them in things like chili where it doesn't make a difference, so that might have made a difference. And yes, I think just that tiny bit of honey helps smooth it out and balance out the acidity. (You could use sugar, too, but I prefer honey. :) )

Jane

Wednesday 19th of October 2016

I finally made this with my oven fire roasted tomatoes and it turned out awesome! I did do a couple things differently, I did not have fresh jalapeno peppers or garlic so I used a powdered "spicy garlic" blend I had from The Spice Hunter. I only have a tiny food chopper and it does not do well with onions. Next time I may hand chop those, or just put them in before the tomatoes go in. I decided to do about 1/2 the non canned tomatoes with a scissors in a bowl, otherwise it does turn to soup quite quickly! Did you drain your can of tomatoes with chili's? I think mine was too watery and may drain those next time. It looks exactly like yours does except I added some cilantro but clipped a whole bunch way down to the ground from my garden and have it in my vase of garden picked flowers (as greenery?) and can snip extra for me since I like it. I will make this again, thanks for your recipe. I do think the honey balances out all the acidity and that is the secret ingredient!

Jane

Sunday 16th of October 2016

I used to can all the time in our old house (with the huge garden!) but my hubby made me sell all my canning jars/supplies at our garage sale when we moved! We now live in a tiny townhome, with a tiny yard.....but I still get a nice crop from my postage stamp sized yard some years. We were supposed to be "down sizing" and simplifying our lives, LOL! I do have cilantro in my garden and it will be going into my salsa. My hubby hates it, just like Rachel, so I make 2 batches of everything. His usually has more hot pepper in it! To each his own! Thanks for the directions for the fire roasting Rachel. I just washed 24 early girls, they are about the size of a Roma, only round and not oblong, should fit well on a sheet pan!

letsshop

Sunday 16th of October 2016

Jane why don't you try canning your tomatoes if you have that much , this way you have them all winter for soups or what ever you cook . Easy after doing it once (: also I know Rachel don't like cilantro but you really need some to make a great salsa . its magic for me in salsa and guacamole (:

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