Salsa De Sonora - Always Better Made At Home

May 14, 2020
2 min read

My favorite kind of salsa is the smooth kind versus the chunky. Most Mexican Restaurants serve this style of salsa when you sit down to eat with warm chips. I love the fresh chunky pico style, however, for everyday eating and multi-tasking into different dishes, the smooth version fits the bill.

Ingredients used in this recipe

Canned Diced Tomatoes- Any type of canned tomato in the juice will work for this recipe. I like the petite dice, however, the regular dice will work. Canned Rotel tomatoes with chilis and cilantro are the ones I used in this recipe.

Onions- I used 1/2 cup which is about a quarter of an onion. You can use red too.

Garlic Cloves or Garlic Powder- If you are going to eat the salsa in a day or two, fresh works great, if you are using garlic powder which is my preference because if your fresh garlic is old, it will become very strong tasting in a day or two. Granulated garlic will also work well.

Cilantro Sprigs- Fresh cilantro is a must for this dish. Be sure to chop those stems too, they are packed with flavor too. You can add more if you really love cilantro as I do.

Ground Cumin- This spice adds an earthy, smoky flavor to the salsa. Use smoked cumin if you can find it. It will add a new level of flavor.

Salt- Regular table salt is fine for this recipe, sea salt, and pink salt will also work fine.

Smoked Paprika and or Chili Powder- Either one will work here, whatever you have on hand, or you can add a bit of both to equal 1/2 teaspoon. I prefer the New Mexico sourced chili powder varieties but any style will work. Use what you have and like.

Ground Cinnamon- A little bit of this in your salsa will elevate the taste. Put a pinch in and taste it before adding more.

Lime Juice- The lime juice adds a bit of brightness to the salsa. Plastic squeeze lime can be used in a pinch.

Chef's Notes

-Do not skip the step of heating the salsa. It takes the raw taste out and served warm, it is fantastic with chips that are warm.

- Heat gently, no need to boil the salsa, you just want the flavors to marry.

- No need to chop the cilantro before adding, it will get processed enough in the blender or processor.

- Notice there are no additional hot peppers in this salsa because it is a mild version, however, you could add fresh or jarred jalapenos for heat. I do use 2 tablespoons of pickled jalapenos in the video version.