Restaurant-Style Salsa

It’s so easy to grab a jar of salsa at the store. I used to do it all the time. That is, until the day I came home from the grocery store without it. By the time I realized my error I had enchiladas in the oven, rice on the stove, and I was setting the table for dinner. So I improvised, and I haven’t bought salsa since.

If you have a blender or a food processor, this all-purpose salsa is super quick and silly easy to make. It makes a little less than a quart of salsa, so it’s very economical, too. I can’t tell you how often I make it. I love that it tastes so fresh and has none of that canned-tomato sauce flavor.

The recipe calls for Rotel-style tomatoes and chilies, a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, cilantro, a little adobo sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and a lime. Oh, and a pinch each of salt and pepper, plus a dash of honey if you have it. You can’t taste the honey, but it balances the acidity perfectly.

If you’re feeding a couple of cilantro-haters, just leave the cilantro out, or you can replace it with basil or parsley or a combination of the two. If you use bottled lime juice don’t tell me about it. For the chipotles, I buy the jarred chipotles in adobo, since I’m using so little. The rest will keep indefinitely in your fridge. If you can’t find the kind in the jar, get the kind in a can and store the leftover chipotle in a half pint canning jar in the fridge. And of course you can use fresh onion and garlic if you’d prefer. I use the powdered form because fresh onion and garlic can be pretty strong.

Restaurant-Style Salsa
1 can tomatoes and chilies, drained
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes,drained
½ bunch of cilantro
Juice and zest of one lime
1 ½ t. diced chipotles in adobo sauce
½ t. onion powder
¼ t. garlic powder
1 t. honey
Pinch each of salt and pepper

Pulse in a food processor or a blender a few times until it’s the texture you want. Serve!