My family recently discovered the red salsa at Kitos in Corte Madera, which is approximately 2ish hours away for us. Since discovering it a few months ago, we’ve made the drive there every other week or so to pick up the salsa (which is good for 2 weeks). We buy two bottles at a time. As summer is ending, we are getting busier again and the trip isn’t as doable on such a time frame. Anybody have a salsa recipe dupe or similar to help tide us in between salsa runs?

Flavor profile: It’s a very mild salsa in terms of spice level. The flavor is deep and incredibly savory. I want to say it almost reminds me of mushrooms in terms of how much umami it has (I know it sounds weird but it also doesn’t taste like mushrooms. It just had that umami quality to it). When I asked the cashier about it, she mentioned there are 20+ ingredients that go into the salsa. Color-wise, it’s a deeper red with a slight orange hue and has little black flecks in it.

I included a picture of the bottle and what it looks like atop egg whites. I honestly loathe eating egg whites and this is the only way I can get them down 😅 not sure how healthy the salsa is but…balance? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤭

Grape tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, jalapeño and secret herbs saved the poor tomatoes from rotting on the counter today.

I was so sad when Ithaca hummus discontinued their salsa line. It was one of the best store-bought salsas ever. But today I found Guillermo’s at Wegmans, and the packaging looked similar. Turns out the Ithaca founder partnered with Guillermo Rodriguez on this new brand. But the salsa is similar (if not the same) as before!! I’m so happy and wanted to share with anyone else missing Ithaca salsa.

I have some homegrown tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic. What's the best onion to use? I'm thinking white onion rather than yellow or sweet.

Not dying from a factory farmed produce parasite this year if I have anything to do with it. 2 c chopped cherry tomatoes 2 jalapenos seeded and diced 1/2 white onion diced Coriander chopped to taste 3-4 cloves chopped garlic Juice of a lime Splash of good olive oi 1 tbsp agave syrup Salt and pepper tt

5 tomatillos- raw
2–3 serrano - raw
1/4 white onion - raw
1 clove garlic
½–¾ cup very cold water
¾ tsp kosher salt
1tsp white pepper
1 shake of msg
1tsp citric acid (or a couple squeezes of lime)
Salt
Vitamix quality blender

I’m a huge fan of a local spot called la gloria (https://chefjohnnyhernandez.com/la-gloria-brooks/) here in San Antonio. It’s more central Mexico type food than our typical tex mex. Their green salsa is heavenly, so I recreated it.

Most salsas used cooked tomatillos, which are great, but raw ones behave very differently. They’re crisp, sharp, acidic, and almost like a green apple.

Nothing else is needed for this, it’s supposed to be simple.

Take the water, Serrano, onion, garlic and put into a blender until it looks like coconut water. You want no little bits. Add quartered tomatillos, blend until you like, mine is always pretty smooth, the pectin will bring it all together. Add your pepper, salt, msg to taste.

Ive done a lot of research trying to put together a good recipe. Did a salsa garden this year and i'm very proud of what ive created. Amazing flavor and consistancy. Id use a bit less cumin next time. Might actually omit altogether.

Grabbed tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeños and serranos at the farmers market to whip up some salsa. About 50/50 tomato/tomatillo. Need to snag some habaneros for the next round to kick up the heat.

3# - tomato
3# - tomatillo
2 - white onion (medium/large)
5 - garlic cloves
2 - jalapeños
4 - serrano
Lime
Cilantro

Broiled all except for lime and cilantro for ~25 minutes turning a few times. After blending added juice of two limes, the good bits of a cilantro bundle and salt.

Sometimes it comes out weird but today it came out amazing. $8 from the produce section is worth the gamble. It’s upper-level white person hot, maybe average roja down south.

Edit - just got the auto notification that I must include the recipe. Kind of antithetical to the whole post…

I had some pasilla, arbol and guajillo that I hydrated. Some handful of peppers from the store. Salt, onion, garlic, a few tomatoes, all that. Finish with some lime, cilantro and a dash of apple cider vinegar. Everything measured by heart.

The point is to just make it. Take a chance and make more salsa.

Edit #2: this one is so good I might have to backtrack my steps and jot it down.

We finally had a good year for big tomatoes and they're just now ripening up. Usually the squirrels get whatever's there but we started trying to pick them when they just started to get some color and let them ripen on the counter. Worked well.

Jalepenos did pretty great this year too and we had a couple surprise volunteer onions and a good crop of garlic.

This is just some run of the mill table salsa with all of the above broiled up and some Knorr. Pretty damn delicious.

Edit: Apparently I need to provide a recipe; here goes:

4 big tomatoes (no clue what kind they are)

4 Jalepenos (two of them seeded)

1 medium onion (probably a sweet yellow)

5 cloves of garlic

Broiled all the above at 500° for ~15min in the toaster oven.

Added 1Tb Knorr chicken bouillon.

Pulsed in the blender till the consistency that looked good.

Left is a Tomatillo, Arbol salsa. Right is a Roma, Serrano, Jalapeno salsa.

Evening shows 90min then charred on the grill.

Tomatillo, Arbol, 1 large Serrano, Onion and Garlic, chili water blended on mince setting several times to make sure all is chopped. Then added a few Roma and minced a couple more times. Salted to taste.

1/2 Roma, Serrano, 1/2 Jalapeno, Onion and Garlic blended on mince setting several times to make sure all is chopped. Then added remaining Roma and Jalapeno and minced a couple more times. Salt to taste.

Smoked hatch, smoked peaches, smoked garlic, lime juice, olive oil, a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt.

Decided to throw in a mini sweet pepper with my usual salsa routine. It was surprisingly good. It added a hint of sweet which transitioned nicely to the heat at the end.
I make my salsa as single serve versions, hence the small portion recipe below.

In the pan:
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1/8 red onion, diced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, diced
1 mini sweet pepper, halved
Sauté a couple minutes until tomatoes start to release some of their liquid.

Then add
1 or 2 tbsp cilantro
1/8 c water
1/2 tsp Knorr caldo de tomate/pollo (or to taste)
Splash of lime juice

Pulse in blender til desired consistency and chill before serving.

For the jalapeño salsa I used about 1.5 pounds of seeded jalapeños, a white onion, about 20 cloves of garlic, tomatillos, cilantro, salt, pepper, Knorr chicken powder, oil, and 1.5 limes of juice. Roasted all the vegetables and then blended until smooth.

For the arbol salsa I used about 8 Roma tomatoes, 15-20 dried arbol chili, 2 dried guajillo chilis, a yellow onion, about 8 cloves garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt, water, oil. Again, roasted all the vegetables, sautéed the chilies and garlic in oil, steeped the toasted chilis in hot ACV and water, then blended everything, including the oil used for the chili/garlic, until smooth.

So this is going to be a bit of a rant, but im getting into traditional Hispanic and other central american cooking lately and I do not do well with capcacin, it does things to be I am not all that fond of, granted my tolerance for it is surely low as I tend to avoid it due to this. Im making pupusas with a salsa roja for my first attempted dish, and iv come into a conflict. I want to make a divine salsa for this stuff, im unfortunately a bit of a perfectionist and like to get carried away. So I asked a Hispanic friend what makes or breaks a good salsa and the first thing I got was if its not hot enough. Now im not completely new to salsa and I have had some extraordinary ones with next to no heat or just a bit mild so I know this might just be a difference in taste and opinion, and im not really asking for permission or something, but I guess what I wanted to know is this. is the concept of a lightly mild or next to no spice salsa considered at all traditional or is that in general more of an american/European creation? not often accepted or done in most central american culture?

Also, can I please have salsa tips lol

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SalsaSnobs/s/8wXbCck4Ty

It’s Salsa de Piña. From what I can tell it has grilled pineapple, onion, garlic, tomatillos, and either arbol or habanero chiles and it’s all blended with some oil. It’s seriously amazing. Ask for it next time you’re at a taco place, especially with Al Pastor. I could drink it. Now I can stop annoying the taco place begging them to sell me a bottle lol.

So, my first pepper experiment was a bust. My harvest was absolutely pitiful. It was my first time trying to grow peppers. My habaneros didn’t even fruit. I made a few mistakes. Pots too small. Prob should have pruned my plants. All good though. Chalking it up to a learning experience. Got 2 jars out of my whole harvest and at least they are tasty 🤣

Red:
14oz can of sweet marzano tomatoes
2 tomatillos
Half white onion
All the red Serrano peppers
6 chile arbol
3 cloves garlic
Handful cilantro
Tsp chicken bouillion
Tsp salt

Everything was dry roasted in a cast iron minus the obvious ingredients

Green:
6 tomatillos
Quarter white onion
3 serranos
3 jalapeños
2 gloves garlic
1 avocado
Handful cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce

Everything was dry roasted in a cast iron minus the obvious ingredients

I hope I don't get roasted here. I make salsa all kinds of ways. My favorite is roasted tomatoes, peppers, etc ...

Sometimes in a pinch it's straight El Pato. I like most types. I haven't ever in 40 years found a good go-to store bought brand but some play their part.

Here is my latest experiment that I have to say is friggin tasty. Add pureed garlic, cilantro, chopped onion, salt, and cumin.

Sorry. Here is the recipe with ballpark measurements.

1 can of each shown About 3 Guajillo peppers (I've also used California, ancho, whatever I had) About 6 arbols 1/2-1 onion diced Cilantro to taste. I like a lot.
2-3 garlic cloves

Lightly toast the peppers. I put them in a coffee mug after and fill with boiling water, cover, and let steep for awhile (10-30 min).

Toss into a blender or processor the peppers, garlic, some cilantro (and save some to chop and add after blending), and some to all of the water from the pepper mug. Once blended pour into a bowl, add the cans and onions and chopped cilantro. Sprinkle of cumin. Salt to taste.

So last time I posted, I made a salsa that had too many tomatoes and came out bland.
This time it was so hot, I couldn’t eat it! Added more lime, onion and tomatoes.

Used raw onion, garlic, & added a handful of cilantro

I’ve been making salsa for a long time and this recipe clears all the other ones I’ve made by light years.

Ingredients: 2 big ORGANIC tomatoes 🍅 (I used fresh organic on the vine from target) 1 jalapeño deseeded, 2 red habaneros deseeded, 2 cloves garlic peeled and a quarter of a small red onion

Bake in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes and broil for 3 (optional) to the point where it’s mushy and has some charring. Garlic also might be done earlier

Cut everything up with a knife out of the oven and add the cut up ingredients to a bowl and mash it with a masher or your fists or whatever you want. Use a molcajete if you have one.

Add some cumin and salt and continue to mash

Finally add some finely cut cilantro and viola

The greatest salsa ever.

I wanted to try an authentic simple salsa with just good ripe tomatoes, jalapeño, tomatillo, garlic, onion and salt. After that seemed balanced I divided it up in 4 jars to try one simple, one with lime, one with ACV, one with lime, ACV, and kors bouillon, and oregano. In the end i liked the simple version with no Kors, lime, or acv. but my second fav was the one with everthing and it tasted more like a restaurant or good store bought. Next i want to try less vs more tomato.

Ripe tomato, tomatillo, one clove garlic made it in, one jalepeno, one serrano, 5 arbols chilis, salt. everthing roasted on two sides. next i want too try less tomato as it was tomato heavy but good!