Restaurant Salsa

Name: Restaurant Salsa Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 pound plum (Roma tomatoes); 1 half medium white onion; 2 serrano chiles; 8 sprigs of cilantro; 2 tablespoons cooking oil; 1 teaspoon salt

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Salsa Roja or Salsa de Mesa or Salsa Mexicana

Simple, fresh, and easy to make. A winning Mexican restaurant style salsa prepared with plum tomatoes, onion cilantro, and serrano peppers. Fresh tomatoes, not canned, star in this recipe.

Mexican Restaurant Salsa — Restaurant salsa just like at your favorite restaurant, but better. Way better.

In Mexico, it is known as salsa roja (red sauce) or salsa de mesa (table sauce). And just like in the U.S., it is served in every restaurant before your meal with tortilla chips.

How to Make Restaurant Salsa

This is an easy Mexican salsa recipe that you will make again and again. Follow the simple steps to get great results every time.

Start with Fresh Ingredients. They Count

Start with fresh ingredients. The fresher they are the better the results. Don’t use canned tomatoes. It gives the salsa a metallic taste.

You’ll notice that there aren’t any limes in the recipe. Whhhaaattt? Limes throw off the balance of flavors by overpowering the flavor of the tomatoes.

But, if you prefer your salsa with lime try adding the juice from only one lime.

Ingredients

1 pound plum (Roma) tomatoes
1 half medium white onion
2 serrano chiles
8 sprigs of cilantro
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt

Chop the Ingredients Before Blending

You need to chop the ingredients before adding them to the blender. Precise chopping isn’t important. You just need smaller pieces so that it is easier to blend without adding water.

Chopped Ingredients Restaurant Salsa — Chop ingredients coarsely before blending.

Don’t Add Water

Put all of the ingredients in your blender. Adding the tomatoes first makes it much easier to blend.

Do not add water unless it won’t blend and then only add 2 tablespoons of water at a time. Most of the time you won’t have to add any. Too much water makes the salsa runny.

You want a full-bodied slightly chunky tomato salsa.

Salsa Ingredients in Blender — Add chopped vegetables to your blender. Don’t add water.

Pulse to Get It Started

The easiest way to get it started it to pulse the blender 5 or 6 times until the blades start to catch. Then blend for about 30 to 45 seconds until it is fully blended but still has a coarse texture. The salsa sticks to tortilla chips better when it has a little texture.

Blended Salsa — Coarsely blend the salsa. This is how it should look.

Fry in Hot Oil

Once the salsa is blended, you are going to fry it in 2 tablespoons of hot cooking oil. To fry it you just pour it into the hot oil. This step is important to develop the flavor of the salsa and helps bind it. Don’t skip it.

Simmer Until Perfect

Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes until it has taken on a deep red color and has more body. Looks good, doesn’t it? The tomatoes need to be very ripe for the sauce to take on the deep red color in the photos.

There you have it, a delicious cooked salsa recipe!

Cool and Serve

Allow your restaurant salsa to cool and then serve with tortilla chips, tacos, or anything else you enjoy with salsa.

It is so easy to make you should always have some in your refrigerator.

Let us know what you think!

Try With These Dishes

This salsa goes really well with quesadillas, carne asada, chorizo tacos, and chicken taquitos.

Provecho!

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