How to Make a Quick Salsa

Published on Thursday, February 5, 2009, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

How to Make a Quick Salsa

Chef Deborah Schneider, author of ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge, makes her ancho chile salsa recipe, sharing important information along the way—like how Mexican oregano is different from oregano you’d normally find at the grocery store. See more of Schneider’s basic Mexican cooking tips: how to core a pepper, how to core a tomato, how to pit an avocado, how to toast dried chiles, and a guide to Mexican dried chiles.

CHOW Tips are the shared wisdom of our community. If you’ve figured out some piece of food, drink, or cooking wisdom that you’d like to share on video (and you can be in San Francisco), email Meredith Arthur and tell us what you’ve got in mind.

ALLCHOW Tip
POST A COMMENT |8 Comments

COMMENT

  • Remember that salsa simply means sauce, and Mexico is a large enough place to have regional variations. Also, they actually sell blenders in Mexico, and what is more, many people own them. :)

    This does not look like a salsa I would particularly enjoy. I would leave out the tomatillos, roast the ingredients either under the broiler, or on the grill, and I would use fresh chiles. Oh, and also,...+READ

    Remember that salsa simply means sauce, and Mexico is a large enough place to have regional variations. Also, they actually sell blenders in Mexico, and what is more, many people own them. :)

    This does not look like a salsa I would particularly enjoy. I would leave out the tomatillos, roast the ingredients either under the broiler, or on the grill, and I would use fresh chiles. Oh, and also, depending on what I wanted it for, I would add varying degrees of salt. Salt, to me, is the one absolutely necessary ingredient, no matter what mix of fruits and veggies you put in. This is because of the way I was taught to make salsa. You like what you are used to.

    However, this does not in any way mean I am suggesting that this video does not depict an "authentic" way to make salsa. There are nearly as many ways to make authentic salsa as there are good cooks in Mexico, with everything from slight to major variations.

    As far as what most Americans think of as salsa, don't sweat the small stuff and worry about whether yours is authentic or not. As long as it has some of the ingredients the video mentioned, and/or some of the ones I mentioned, and tastes good to you, chances are there is someone in Mexico who makes it exactly the way you do, and the important thing is that you and your family like it, no matter where you live. And, I don't care if your Mexican buddy Jose told you that there is only one real way to make salsa. He'll tell you about what HE likes, and it is exactly the same as if your American buddy Bobby Joe were to tell you there is only one way to make chicken. In either case, it's probably the way their mama made it, and if you were to go even as far as a block away from the house where they grew up, you'd probably find someone else's mama who makes it a little different. :)-COLLAPSE

  • Jetgirly sold me on the recipe (not that I need much selling because it seemed easy and delicious!)

  • I spent some time living with a Mexican family while I was house-hunting in Guadalajara, and this is the exact kind of salsa the mom served with every single meal. It's just coincidence that I stumbled across this video, but I'm looking forward to recreating her signature dish!

  • Tomatillos can be combined with tomatoes. I would not do that though. Tomatillos have a bright, less savory flavor and a wonderful color that mixing will make less obvious. Using tomatillos or tomatoes and not both lets them show their unique qualities. Different flavors and colors. Go green peppers with green salsa. Grilled, smoked or red peppers with red salsa.

  • Licuadora

    http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?LEMA=licuadora

  • I want to use my tomatillos we grew in the garden. Do they go good in fresh tomato based salsa?

  • The Spanish Wiki article on 'Liquadora' puts it this way: you can spend 60 minutes with a molcajete and get the perfect texture and taste, or 5 with a blender. Depends on whether you are 'more Catholic than the Pope' or not. :)

  • Not that it's a big deal, but I always thought purists avoided blenders (I don't have one anyway). My recipe is made up, and doesn't involve heat;
    Chopped cherry tomatoes, seeds removed, cracked sea salt, olive oil and diced garlic. Then add diced red onion, diced chile (nondescript fresh chile unfortunately).
    Other stuff added as required, eg squeeze of lime, dried/fresh herbs.

    I feel mine is...+READ

    Not that it's a big deal, but I always thought purists avoided blenders (I don't have one anyway). My recipe is made up, and doesn't involve heat;
    Chopped cherry tomatoes, seeds removed, cracked sea salt, olive oil and diced garlic. Then add diced red onion, diced chile (nondescript fresh chile unfortunately).
    Other stuff added as required, eg squeeze of lime, dried/fresh herbs.

    I feel mine is better for adding to tacos etc (it would be far improved with the ancho chiles used in the video), although the one in the video is probably a better "dippy" salsa for chips etc.-COLLAPSE