May, along with being Salad month and Strawberry month is also Salsa month. What a great food month to be right smack in the middle of. While the local tomatoes aren't in season yet here in Utah, it is easy to make fresh salsa at home with canned tomatoes. I absolutely love canned tomatoes with all their uses, and I always seem to have plenty of them in my pantry.
This salsa is for a smooth style salsa, the type you can get at the big chain Mexican food restaurants with chips to start your meal. My kids go Ga-Ga over that type of salsa. All you need to make it at home are a few cans for tomatoes, a handful of fresh ingredients (that can really be about your preferences) and a blender or food processor.
Ingredients
2 (14½ oz) cans diced tomatoes ( I like to use a can of tomatoes and a can of Ro-Tel)
1 medium onion ( I happened to have green onions today, so I used those instead of a white or yellow)
4 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño pepper, deseeded ( I used two because I was feeling Spicy today!)
2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice ( I just used one of the plastic limes with juice, because I had that)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
6 tbsp cilantro ( I added a little more cilantro, because I had more in my bunch and I don't mind it tasting a lot like cilantro)
Instructions
Strain tomatoes and reserve juice. Roughly chop onion, fresh garlic, and jalapeño; add to food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add juice from tomatoes, lime juice, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Process on high for about 30 seconds.
Add about ½ cup of diced tomatoes and process on low for an extra 5 seconds. Add remaining tomatoes and cilantro and pulse until desired consistency is reached. It's ready to serve immediately, but you can also let it chill in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors combine.
We ate some right away with chips to make sure it was good. And then we made nachos for afterschool snacks. The rest I store in glass canning jars in the fridge with dates written on them so I know how long to keep them around. I never have to worry about it going "bad" here at my house. Salsa gets eaten on everything and anything.
If you have a few minutes, and are in a Salsa mood, You should really blend up some of this amazing stuff. The recipe is super forgiving and you can add (or leave things out) to your own liking. It is a really safe recipe to experiment with and find exactly what you like. Happy Salsa Month! Dips Away.....
