Did you know that 'salsa' is the Mexican word for sauce? Homemade salsas are integral to the Mexican kitchen. They are used in hundreds of ways - as dips for corn chips (which is how most of us here in the US think of them), as toppings for a multitude of dishes such as eggs, tacos, fish, chicken, beans, and quesadillas, as marinades for grilled meat and fish, and as the foundation for soups, stews, and casseroles.

Salsas come in lots of varieties. There are cooked salsas, fresh salsas, smooth salsas, chunky salsas, smoky salsas, and sweet salsas that can range from mildly spicy to fiery hot. Uncooked fresh salsa, known as salsa cruda, has bright fresh flavors and is probably Mexico's best-known salsa. Cooked salsa is usually sweeter with deeper flavor than fresh. Roasting your tomatoes, garlic, and/or chiles creates a softer, smokier, milder salsa.

Salsa made with tomatoes is called salsa roja while green salsa, made with tomatillos, small green tomato-like fruit, is known as salsa verde.

While the variety of jarred salsas available in grocery stores continues to expand, most are just not as good as what you make yourself. Making homemade salsa from scratch is easy. Most salsas consist of just a few simple ingredients - tomatoes, onion, chiles, cilantro, and lime - that can be put together in a matter of minutes. Grinding ingredients together in a rough bowl-shaped mortar called a molcajete is the traditional method for making many salsas.

If you don't have a molcajete, you can get similar results with a blender or food processor. However, for best results, most fresh salsas are usually just chopped by hand to avoid over-processing.

To help get your homemade salsa creative juices flowing here is a simple fresh salsa recipe to try.

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Fresh Salsa Recipe

4 medium-size rip tomatoes, cored, seeded and finely diced
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-size mixing bowl combine all ingredients until well blended. This fresh salsa recipe can be stored covered in the refrigerator and is best if used within 1 to 2 days of making.

Yield: Makes about 2 cups of fresh salsa

Are you looking for the perfect salsa bowl to serve your fresh homemade salsa?

Terracotta Salsa Bowl with Ladle




Want a molcajete to make salsa the traditional Mexican way?

Authentic Mexican Molcajete (Mortar and Pestle)