Salsa Roja
This roasted red salsa is a family favorite! It’s just as good, or even better, than any Mexican restaurant salsa!
Equipment
- 1 Food processor (or blender, or potato masher)
Ingredients
- 12-15 Roma tomatoes, sliced if desired but not necessary (see notes)
- 3 onions, skins removed, then cut into quarters
- 3 Serrano peppers, caps and seeds removed using a spoon or wearing gloves (see notes)
- 10-15 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 cilantro bunch, washed, lower half of stems removed
- 1 Tablespoon iodized table salt, more or less or to taste
- Tortilla chips to dip with! Nothing is worse than making this wonderful salsa and then realizing you forgot to buy chips!
Optional Ingredient
- lime juice (I prefer this salsa without lime juice, but if you love it, go for it! Add it when you add the cilantro and salt.)
Instructions
- Turn oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup, if desired.
- Prepare the first 4 ingredients as directed: wash tomatoes, remove onion skins and cut into quarters, remove caps and seeds from Serrano peppers (see note below about burning), and peel the garlic cloves.
- Set the tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic on the baking sheet and bake until fragrant, about 1 hour. One sign that roasting is complete is the onions will be translucent and they will char nicely on the tips.
- During roasting, wash cilantro and cut off lower portion of stems. Discard stems. See notes below.
- When roasting is complete, remove the baking sheet from oven. Using a large spoon, transfer the roasted vegetables into a large food processor, leaving room for the cilantro. (Smaller batches may be necessary for small food processors. If you don’t have a food processor, do the best you can with a blender or potato masher.)
- Add the cilantro on top of the roasted vegetables. Add about 1/2 of a tablespoon of salt. Blend all ingredients together until desired consistency is achieved.
- Using a tortilla chip, taste the salsa. If it is lacking in flavor, add more salt and taste again. I usually need about 1 Tablespoon. You’ll know when you have added the right amount of salt because it will taste amazing. But go slowly about it. You can’t really remove salt once it’s blended in. I recommend tasting with a tortilla chip because the saltiness of the chips should be considered when adjusting the salsa for the right amount of saltiness overall.
- Salsa leftovers should stay fresh in the fridge for 3-5 days. Or you may freeze the salsa in small portions in a freezer-safe container or zipper bag for up to one year. Generally the texture of tomatoes isn’t great after freezing, but because this salsa is run through the food processor, the texture really isn’t adversely affected after freezing.
Notes
You may slice the tomatoes in half if desired, but it’s not necessary. However, if the condition of the tomatoes is in question, cutting them in half to check for freshness isn’t a bad idea.
Roma tomatoes are less watery than other tomato varieties, so they are a great choice for a thick salsa like this one.
Roasting the first 4 ingredients for long enough, about an hour, helps bring out the sugars in the foods and contributes to the “right” taste for this salsa.
I wear food-safe gloves or use a small spoon to remove seeds. One time before I knew better, I removed my eye contacts after working with the peppers and then washing my hands, and to my surprise my eyes burned for hours afterward! I had washed my hands after working with the peppers, but it didn’t matter. The pepper oil can remain on the hands even after washing. Those peppers pack a punch! Fair warning!
If the skin on your hands starts to burn from the Serrano pepper oil, you can try to alleviate it with rubbing alcohol or with vegetable oil. You may want to use rubbing alcohol or vegetable oil after you wash your hands regardless of whether or not your skin burns, just to remove traces of the pepper oil. Some of us in the family have eczema, so we need to think ahead about how to prevent unnecessary discomfort! Using 3 Serrano peppers makes this salsa spicy enough for my family, but not overly spicy for our children. Feel free to roast additional peppers and add them to achieve more spiciness. Or blend the seeds into the salsa instead of discarding them to increase spiciness. The cilantro stems attached to the leaves are fine to use in the salsa. No need to remove every individual leaf. I position the leaves pointing toward the left of my cutting board, and the stems pointing to the right on the board. Holding the leaves in place with one hand, I cut off the main part of the stems all in one cut and discard. Easy. Some people like to add lime juice to their salsa, so feel free to do that! I like this salsa without lime juice, so it’s all about personal preference.
If the skin on your hands starts to burn from the Serrano pepper oil, you can try to alleviate it with rubbing alcohol or with vegetable oil. You may want to use rubbing alcohol or vegetable oil after you wash your hands regardless of whether or not your skin burns, just to remove traces of the pepper oil. Some of us in the family have eczema, so we need to think ahead about how to prevent unnecessary discomfort! Using 3 Serrano peppers makes this salsa spicy enough for my family, but not overly spicy for our children. Feel free to roast additional peppers and add them to achieve more spiciness. Or blend the seeds into the salsa instead of discarding them to increase spiciness. The cilantro stems attached to the leaves are fine to use in the salsa. No need to remove every individual leaf. I position the leaves pointing toward the left of my cutting board, and the stems pointing to the right on the board. Holding the leaves in place with one hand, I cut off the main part of the stems all in one cut and discard. Easy. Some people like to add lime juice to their salsa, so feel free to do that! I like this salsa without lime juice, so it’s all about personal preference.