Salsa w/ Tomatoes, Red Onion, & Garlic

I know that I'm going to make Enchiladas w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes. Ordinarily, I would make enchilada sauce. However, I'm feeling a bit lazy at the moment. After all, I did just make Slow Cooker Pinto Beans w/ Habaneros & Garlic, Mexican Rice w/ Flaming Jade & Mariachi Peppers, Corn Tortillas w/ Masa Harina, and Crema w/ Sour Cream, Heavy Whipping Cream, & Lime. So, as much as I might feel like I'm half half-assing this endeavor? I've actually made quite a lot of food. Go ahead and make enchilada sauce, if that's your cup of tea. Otherwise, I'm just making red onion salsa and calling it a day! After all, the important part of cooking is really just being able to eat something at the end of the day. So, it doesn't matter that much how you got there.

I also probably would have made enchilada sauce if I had any peppers ripening in the garden that weren't Scotch bonnets. They're my favorite, so that is a win. But they're about 100,000–350,000 Scovilles. That's a similar heat level to habaneros. Which, while being a doable amount of heat for me? Isn't quite what my house guests had in mind. So, I decided not to add peppers and make this a mild sauce. Although you can mix and match your own favorite peppers and adjust to your own heat preference!

Gallery

Variations of Red Onion Salsa

I probably make Enchilada Sauce more than I make salsa. Enchilada sauce takes about an hour to make, though. And you can toss even a cooked salsa together in half that time. You can also strain the excess liquid out of the tomatoes and do a fresh salsa in just a couple of minutes!

Salsa w/ Roasted Tomatoes & Poblanos

Salsa w/ Roasted Tomatoes & Bell Peppers

Salsa w/ Avocado, Cucumber, & Tomatoes

Salsa w/ Tomatoes, Red Onion, & Garlic

This homemade Salsa recipe consists of a few simple ingredients: tomatoes, red onion, garlic, lime juice, and a dash of cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper. Feel free to mix and match your own favorite ingredients in this recipe. I'd ordinarily add in a few garden fresh peppers. Although I added so many peppers to the Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes that I used in the Enchiladas for this recipe that I didn't bother to make a whole enchilada sauce. Which is one of the fun things about cooking food at home. You can adjust the spice level and amount of effort that you want to put into something!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 2 cups

Equipment

Food Processor (optional)
Saucepan
Stovetop

Ingredients

4 tomatoes quartered
1/2 red onion quartered
2 cloves garlic
1 lime juiced
dash cumin
dash coriander
dash salt
dash pepper

Instructions

Place tomatoes, carrots, and garlic in a food processor. Quickly pulse about 10-15 times, or until the ingredients are loosely chopped.
If you want a chunkier salsa, pulse less. If you want a thinner salsa, more like an enchilada sauce, purée until smooth.
Alternatively, you can just dice the tomatoes and carrots and mince the garlic. I'm really just being lazy here! But it is a quick and easy trick to dicing produce.
Add tomato mixture and the rest of the ingredients to a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until thickened to the desired consistency.
Cool and either serve immediately or chilled.