This is a cooked salsa, not a fresh one, and that is the most important thing to know before you make it. Everything goes in the blender and then into a pot for ten minutes. Cooking rounds the raw edge off the onion and garlic, deepens the tomato, and gives you something that keeps and spoons rather than something bright and watery.
If what you wanted was pico de gallo, this is not it, and the difference is in the pot rather than the ingredients.
Makes 2 to 3 cups in about twenty minutes.
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The recipe
Red Chile Salsa
- Yield2 to 3 cups
- Prep10 minutes
- Cook10 minutes
- Chile1/2 cup
Ingredients
- 2 lbs tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 2 jalapeños, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup flame roasted Hatch red chile
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- Salt to taste
Method
- Put the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, red chile, garlic, cilantro and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Pulse until fairly smooth but still with some texture. Do not run it to a purée.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Pour in the blended mixture along with the cumin and a good pinch of salt. Stand back, because it will spit.
- Bring it to a quick boil, then reduce and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste and salt again. It will need more than you expect once the tomatoes have concentrated.
- Cool, then refrigerate. Serve with chips or on anything.
Cooked versus fresh
Both are salsa and they do different jobs. Worth knowing which you are making.
Cooked, like this one. Deeper, rounder, slightly sweet from the concentrated tomato. The onion and garlic lose their raw bite. It clings to a chip instead of running off it, and it keeps for the better part of a week. This is the one you make in a batch.
Fresh, like pico de gallo. Bright, sharp, crunchy, and best within a day. Nothing goes near heat. This is the one you make while the grill warms up.
The blend-then-cook order in this recipe matters. Blending first and cooking second gives you an even texture and a short cook. Cooking whole vegetables first and blending after is the other tradition and produces something smokier, especially if you char the tomatoes and onion under a broiler before they go in the blender. That is a worthwhile variation if you have ten extra minutes.
One thing not to do: run the blender to a smooth purée. Salsa wants some texture, and over-blending also whips air into it and lightens the color.
The two heat sources
Jalapeños and roasted red chile are doing different things here.
The jalapeños bring sharp, immediate, green heat. Two is assertive. Take the veins out for less, or use one.
The red chile brings roasted flavor with its heat, and it is what makes this taste like New Mexico rather than like generic red salsa. Half a cup into two pounds of tomatoes is a real presence without dominating.
If you want more chile character and less sharpness, go up on the red chile and down on the jalapeño. If you want a pure New Mexico version, leave the jalapeños out entirely and take the red chile to three quarters of a cup.
Remember heat varies by year, not just by label, since NMSU notes that field stress raises the heat of even a mild cultivar. Taste before you commit.
About canning it, which you should not do
People ask this every summer, so here is the straight answer.
Do not water bath can this recipe, or any salsa recipe you have adjusted. Canning safety for salsa depends entirely on acidity, and the ratio of low acid ingredients such as onions, peppers and chile to acid ingredients such as tomatoes and lime juice is what determines whether the finished jar is safe. Changing that ratio, or adding chile to a recipe that was tested without it, can push the pH into the range where Clostridium botulinum can survive.
Recipes that are safe to can have been laboratory tested at those exact proportions. This one has not been.
What to do instead: refrigerate it, or freeze it. Freezing works fine for a cooked salsa and carries none of that risk. If you want to can salsa, use a tested recipe from the USDA or a university extension service and follow it exactly, including the quantities of every low acid ingredient.
Keeping it
Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days, per USDA guidance for cooked leftovers, in a covered container and cold within two hours.
Freezer: several months. It freezes better than a fresh salsa does, because the vegetables have already broken down. It will be a little looser on thawing. Freeze it flat in bags or in small containers so you thaw only what you need.
It is better on day two. The flavors settle overnight and the cumin comes forward.
Fixing a batch that went wrong
It is watery
Tomatoes vary enormously in water content. Simmer longer, uncovered. Fifteen or twenty minutes is fine if it needs it.
It tastes flat
Salt, then lime. Cooked salsa needs more salt than fresh because nothing in it is sharp any more.
It is bitter
Usually over-blended cilantro stems or scorched garlic. Pulse rather than run the blender, and keep the heat at medium.
It is too hot
More tomato, or a little sugar. Dairy works at the table, which is why sour cream sits next to it.
The color is pale and foamy
Over-blended. Pulse next time.
What to put it on
Chips first. Then eggs, rolled tacos, burritos, or anything that needs acid and heat at the same time.
It is a different thing from New Mexico red chile sauce, which is smooth, thickened, and meant to be poured hot over enchiladas. Salsa is a condiment, sauce is part of the dish. Both start from the same jar.
The chile is 16 oz jars of flame roasted Hatch red chile, Medium or Hot, four ingredients: Hatch chile, salt, garlic, lime juice. Half a cup per batch means a jar makes four. Green chile beer queso goes next to this on a table, and the recipe archive is free.
Common questions
Is this a cooked or a fresh salsa?
Cooked. Everything is blended, then simmered ten minutes, which rounds off the raw onion and garlic and concentrates the tomato. Fresh salsa such as pico de gallo never goes near heat.
Can I can this salsa?
No. Canning safety for salsa depends on the exact ratio of low acid ingredients to acid ones, and this recipe has not been laboratory tested at those proportions. Refrigerate or freeze it, or use a tested recipe from USDA or a university extension service if you want to can.
How much red chile goes in?
Half a cup into two pounds of tomatoes. Take it to three quarters of a cup and leave out the jalapeños if you want a purely New Mexican version.
Why is my salsa watery?
Tomatoes vary a lot in water content. Simmer it uncovered for longer, up to twenty minutes.
Can I freeze salsa?
Yes, and a cooked salsa freezes better than a fresh one because the vegetables have already broken down. Expect it slightly looser on thawing.
What is the difference between this and red chile sauce?
Salsa is a chunky cold condiment. Red chile sauce is smooth, thickened with a little flour or by reduction, and poured hot over enchiladas. Different dishes from the same jar.
How long does it keep in the fridge?
Three to four days per USDA guidance for cooked leftovers, covered and cold within two hours. It is better on day two.
The short version
Pulse everything, simmer ten minutes in a little oil, salt it more than you think. Two to three cups, better tomorrow, keeps three to four days or freezes for months. Do not can it.