FIRE ROASTED TOMATO & JALAPEÑO SALSA

I never ever, ever, ever need a reason to eat Mexican food, so tomorrow for Cinco de Mayo I'll be eating Mexican food just like I do about once a week all of the other weeks of the year. I LOVE it and always have. However, there is one thing that has changed over the last few years regarding my thoughts on my favorite food. I actually prefer to make it myself at home now as opposed to eating it out. I've eaten it so much at restaurants that I now know exactly how I like it to taste. I prefer whole wheat tortillas that have been slightly warmed through instead of regular tortillas, roasted onions and peppers for fajitas rather than sauteed, margaritas on the rocks as opposed to frozen margaritas, Food Should Taste Good Chips as opposed to over-salted chips, and I like really spicy salsa to go with them. Really spicy...

I've only been to a few places where the salsa is just right for me, so I often make my own salsa at home. This version made with fire roasted tomatoes is my favorite. It's super fresh and one of those recipes where you just dump everything into a food processor and have a completed condiment in less than five minutes. Love it. I keep it easy by using canned tomatoes. Turning on the oven and roasting tomatoes for something so simple just isn't worth it to me... Sometimes I drain the tomatoes a little so that the salsa will be a little chunkier, but this salsa is super good chunky or not. I use red onions and a jalapeño (with the seeds sometimes) to get the spice. You could definitely eat this right out of the food processor, but I prefer to make it the day before and eat it the next day. It tastes even better once all of the flavors have married overnight. Dip into it with your favorite tortilla chip, pour it over grilled chicken, add it to the inside of your favorite taco, burrito, or quesedilla - it's just plain good in so many ways. :)

P.S. Stop by tomorrow and I'll tell you how I made those margaritas!!

Here is what you need and what to do (makes about 2 cups):

1 28oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes ( I used Muir Glen's Fire Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes)

1 small red onion or 1/2 of a large red onion, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded (or not) and chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups cilantro 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. For a chunky salsa, pour the diced tomatoes into a fine mesh strainer to drain some of the liquid out while doing Step #2. 

2. Add the onion and the garlic to a food processor. Pulse the processor a few times until they are finely chopped. 

3. Once some of the liquid has drained out of the tomatoes, add the tomatoes, jalapeño, lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper (to taste) to the processor. Process the ingredients until the salsa reaches your desired consistency. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

4. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container overnight. It will taste even better the next day!

Images by me