Mexican food is flavorful, besides the use of different herbs and spices, the use of sauces, or “salsas” is basic for some recipes, such as enchiladas, chilaquiles, huevos ahogados, and many other meals. A nice bowl of salsa on the table, is very important, in order to add some to tacos, on top of a nice dish of rice or to those meals which do not contain chile, or simply to add more spicy taste to an already hot recipe. Before the Spanish conquest, preparing “salsa” was a common practice, but, it were the Spaniards who called this preparation “salsa”; a mix of tomato (jitomate), chiles and herbs, crushed into a “molcajete” (stone mortar with and hand elongated piece called “tejolote”, rounded in one end, made of the same material, used to smash solid and liquid ingredients).

 

There is nothing compared with a nice salsa made using a molcajete, for some reason, you do not achieve the same flavor using a blender, or mixing the same ingredients with a food processor, however, you can substitute the “molcajete” with these two modern options.

 

The chief ingredients in salsa are tomatoes (jitomates), onions, chiles, garlic, salt, and sometimes some herbs as coriander or oregano are also added. Thus, there are as many variations in salsas, as ingredients you can combine, and your cooking creativity for combining all the free authentic mexican recipies from mexico we provide for your enjoyment.

 

 

Simple tomato salsa recipe

(Salsa de jitomate)
This is a basic recipe for the salsa needed in some recipes, such as enchiladas, huevos ahogados, chilaquiles, etc. If you do not add too much liquid, it will be thicker, and proper for presentation on the table. If you need it for cooking you can add more liquid or better, chicken broth to cook with it.
Ingredients
2 big tomatoes
3-4 dried or fresh chiles de árbol, 5-6 chiles serranos, or 3 jalapeños (these can be substituted with 3-4 Szechuan peppers)
3-4 garlic cloves peeled
1 onion chopped in small pieces
Salt at taste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (coriander), for topping
Preparation:

You can boil the tomatoes and chiles, with enough water to almost cover them, till the tomato skin splits (about 5 to 10 minutes), or, you can also choose to grill the tomatoes and chiles on a comal (clay dish) or skillet, till the tomato skin gets burnt and loosens, be careful to turn them often, so they cook evenly. Once they are ready, using any of these methods, transfer the chiles to the molcajete, and mash them with the tejolote with rotational movements, add the garlic cloves, and do the same. Next, add the onion. (At the beginning, you will need some practice, but this is easy to do, just keep in mind, that molcajete is the oldest Mexican version of a blender, the ingredients must be finely crushed and evenly integrated. On the last step, integrate the peeled tomatoes, and crush them integrating the salsa, season with salt. Top with coriander.