Mouth-watering Mexican recipe: Salsa Roja

If you say Mexican cuisine, you say spicy salsas. There is an infinite variety, depending on the region and the availability of fresh ingredients. But there is one salsa that is famous above all: Red tomato salsa or “Salsa Roja”. It’s time to discover how easy it is to make a healthy home-made salsa, using fresh ingredients that are available everywhere. Now not everybody likes it HOT, so feel free to adjust the spice level to your personal preference.


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Ingredients

• 1-3 serrano chilies
• 2-3 Roma tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ onion
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime juice
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Wash the chilies, tomatoes and cilantro. Peel the garlic and onion
2. Place the chilies, tomatoes, garlic and onion in a hot dry skillet
3. ​Grill the vegetables until charred and blackened.
   
4. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt to the Mexican mortar and pestle or “molcajete”. Grind into a smooth paste
5. Add the chilies and grind. You can remove the seeds to make the salsa less spicy.
6. Now you need some elbow grease to grind up the grilled onion. You can grind it until it has a smooth consistency or leave it a bit chunky. It’s up to you!
7. Add the grilled tomatoes, one at a time. Make sure to cut them roughly before grinding it, otherwise you might get flying tomatoes in your kitchen.
8. Finally you will add a pinch of cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste. If you don’t like cilantro, you can leave it out altogether.
9. If you don’t have a Mexican mortar and pestle, don’t worry. You can use a blender to grind the ingredients. The cilantro is added as a final touch.
10. You can use the molcajete as a serving bowl or transfer to a serving dish. You can keep the Salsa Roja in the fridge for up to a week.

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Tips

• If you can’t find serrano chilies, you can also use jalapeño or habanero. The salsa will taste slightly different: feel free to experiment
• To make a Salsa Verde, replace the Roma tomatoes with “tomatillo” green tomato. Make sure to remove the husk before grilling them.
• You can serve Salsa Roja with cheese quesadillas, fried eggs or beef and chicken dishes. Or simply with some tortilla chips! Que rico!