Have you ever been to a Mexican restaurant and the chips and salsa were hard to stop eating? That happened to me recently, and I found myself trying to figure out what that earthy, herby flavor was, and then it popped into my head…fresh oregano! Oh, my goodness, I had to give it a try and make it myself. The recipe below is my best shot at it. I think one of the tricks in making a good salsa is knowing your chilis and peppers, and how hot they are, and what kind of flavor they bring. Even then, you could be surprised. Sometimes peppers are milder or much hotter than they are supposed to be. Every time it’s kind of a gamble, so choose your ingredients and add them slowly to achieve the spice you desire.
Here are some different options to choose from: Jalapeños have a bright grassy flavor with slight sweetness, and a mild to medium heat. Guajillo peppers are earthy and smoky-sweet, with mild to medium heat. Ancho peppers are smoky with a jammy flavor similar to dried fruits like raisins, and mild to medium heat. Chili Pua is a medium hot pepper with bright sweetness and fruitiness: think cherries, licorice, and berry tones. Serrano peppers have a clean, bright, grassy, moderate heat, with a sharp tangy bite with no fruitiness. Cayenne pepper is medium hot with sharp clean heat with faint fruity, and earthy notes, and a mild, sweet, bitter finish. You can copy what I used, or feel free to use what you have to make it as spicy as you like. My salsa ended up being very mild, so I added a dash of cayenne pepper at the end.
Ingredients:
1.) 11 medium Roma tomatoes for roasting, plus two more to use raw
2.) 6 dried guajillo peppers
3.) 1 large, dried, ancho pepper
4.) 5 miniature jalapeño peppers (don’t laugh, they are from my garden)
5.) 2-4 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
6.) 1 yellow onion finely diced
7.) 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped (use less if you choose)
8.) 2-4 tablespoons oregano, finely chopped
9.) 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
10.) 1 cup water
11.) optional: 1 teaspoon sugar or honey, ½ teaspoon cumin, cayenne pepper to make it spicier, juice of 1 lime
Salsa time:
Place 11 of the tomatoes and your raw peppers in a pan, and roast over medium to high heat for about 10-15 minutes, turning them frequently to make sure that all sides get charred. In a separate pan quickly toast your dried peppers, being very careful not to burn them, which will cause a bitter flavor. Once toasted, remove from the pan and set aside. By this time, hopefully, your tomatoes and peppers will have a nice char on them.
Next, add about ½ cup of water to the tomato pan and cover with a lid. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, until they soften and then turn off the heat.
Put the garlic, salt, ½ cup of water, dried peppers, and one hot charred tomato into a blender, and blend until smooth. Next, add the remaining charred tomatoes, and any liquid left in the pan to the blender, plus the 2 raw tomatoes, and blend until you have reached the consistency you desire.
Once done blending the salsa, pour it into a large bowl and let it cool while you chop the onion and herbs. Mix the onion, cilantro, and oregano into the salsa. Take a taste and adjust it with any of the above optional ingredients. When you have achieved perfection, pour it into a large airtight container, and store it in the fridge for up to 7 days. It gets even better on the second day!
I love this restaurant style salsa! It’s nice to make a big batch and then use it throughout the week to add to Mexican dishes like tacos, burritos, or bowls. It’s great with breakfast eggs, too. I can even imagine cooking protein like chicken or fish in it. Being able to adjust the heat makes it so nice for those that don’t like too much spice, and of course for those who like it as spicy as it can get. Try it, make it how you like it, share it, love it, pass it around, and enjoy.
Wishing you good health and good luck on all of your cooking adventures.
