Salsa Habanera
If you like your salsa hot, this is the one for you, a fiery red tomato habanero sauce like they make in the Yucatán. Habanero chiles have a fruity taste and are very hot, not for the faint of heart. A little goes a long, long way.
How to Make
Ingredients:
A few simple ingredients make a great salsa.
- 3 very ripe tomatoes (about 1 lb.)
- ½ white onion
- 2 habanero peppers (chiles)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp. oil.
Note: If you are sensitive to hot peppers, which habaneros definitely are, you can wear gloves to avoid any discomfort.
Remove the stems from the tomatoes and chiles and quarter the tomatoes and onion.
Preheat 1 tbsp. oil to medium-hot. Cook the tomatoes, onion, habaneros, and garlic until they start to brown, about 10 minutes.
Blend with the salt, vinegar.
You’re salsa before being cooked. It’s starting to look good. The next step is “seasoning.”
Fry the Salsa. This is an important step. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil to hot. Once the oil is hot, pour the blended salsa into the hot oil.
This is called “seasoning” the salsa and it adds depth of flavor.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. During this time the salsa will darken in color, slightly thicken and take on a more intense flavor. It’s now ready to serve.
Looks good, doesn’t it?
Habanero Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe tomatoes about 1 lb.
- 2 habanero chiles
- ½ white onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt + to taste
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
Instructions
- Remove the stems from the tomatoes and chiles and quarter the tomatoes and onion.
- Preheat 1 tbsp. oil to medium-hot. Cook the tomatoes, onion, chile, and garlic until they start to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Blend the browned tomatoes, onions, and garlic with the salt, vinegar.
- Heat 2 tbsp. of oil to hot. Once the oil is hot, pour the blended salsa into the hot oil to "season" it.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes to thicken and intensify the flavor.
Alex Gibson says
Well, I had a yellow onion I needed to use. That was the only substitution. I used canola oil for the browning & seasoning process. I went with the tomato weight of 1 pound. I have homegrown Roger Torsyth Giant Habaneros which were used. The simplicity of the ingredients and the pan browning and seasoning along with the apple cider vinegar are, what I believe, the keys to this excellent recipe. I look forward to making this again when my heirloom tomatoes are ripe. Thank you very much for the recipe. I will be attempting any and all recipes by Mr. Cullen.
Douglas Cullen says
We’re glad you loved the salsa. Everything is better with heirloom tomatoes. Thanks for letting us know!
Brandon says
I made this salsa with twice as many habaneros and it is not even warm. The peppers were so hot i could barely could cut them up without coughing. Why would it not come out hot? Is it my tomatoes?
Ray says
Can I batch make this and refrigerate if so how long please
Mike Viront says
This turns out great every time I’ve made it. My question is can it be safely processed in a water bath to preserve it? And should I add more vinegar for canning.
brad c says
this looks like a great salsa, but i’ve tried it twice now and each time, it comes out like spicy tomato sauce. do you have any advice?
Graham Dawson says
I first tried your recipe a couple of years ago, and it has been my go to salsa recipe ever since. Living on the east coast, frost is coming, so today was the tomato and pepper picking day. I didn’t grow habaneros this year, but I did grow cayenne peppers and plum tomatoes. I used 6 cayennes which turned out to be heat equivalent to 1 habanero. Delicious as usual. Thanks again for sharing the recipe!