From your typical Mexican White cheese dip like you’d find at your local Mexican restaurant, a Baked Mexican Cheese Dip, or your go-to Rotel dip that you find at every football party, I’ve collected plenty of spicy dip recipes. But sometimes you just need a plain and simple salsa recipe! I mean jarred salsa just doesn’t cut it anymore.

So when I discovered Blogging for Books and found a whole book dedicated to salsas, I knew this was my chance.

Salsas and Moles by Deborah Schneider contain over 60 recipes of Pico de Gallo, Mole Poblano, Chimichurri, Guacamole, and more.

This book was full of tips on working with chiles and some essential pantry ingredients to have on hand. I love how informative it was and how it breaks down into sections of classic table salsa, hot salsas, moles and enchilada salsas, salsa for tacos, chunky salsas, and botanas. And for those new to making salsas from scratch she includes a guide to fresh and dried chile peppers.

The introduction spoke to me. She said “every Mexican cook…has a special secret salsa recipe.” And this Salsa Casera, which is a simmered fresh tomato salsa has now become mine.

Salsa Without Chips?

So you know how we all like to eat our salsa with tortilla chips? Well, apparently this is not the case in Mexico unless you’re in tourist areas. Now, I love my chips and salsa so I’ll gladly keep that tradition anyway!

Ingredients for Salsa Casera

Gather together your ingredients to make this delicious salsa. You’ll need the following:

• 2 cups of water
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 6 medium tomatillos, husked and washed
• 3 medium Roma tomatoes
•  ½ white onion, diced
• 1 whole clove (optional)
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed
• 1 chile de arbol, stemmed
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro (optional)

What if I can’t find a Chile de Arbol or other ingredients?

It is true that some of these ingredients aren’t on the shelves of your local grocery store. Dried chiles aren’t exactly a kitchen pantry staple! If you have a specialty grocery store or one that carries international food, you may have better luck.

You can also order online. There were some neat online resources given in the book for finding certain dried chiles, canned goods, dried beans, and cheeses. I actually have ordered some cheese from one of the places before for some of my recipes.

If nothing else, you can substitute ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper for the chile de arbol.

How to make Salsa Casera

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the water, 2 teaspoons of salt, tomatillos, tomatoes, onion, clove, garlic, and chiles. Bring this to a simmer over medium heat and cook gently for about 10 minutes or until the tomatillos are just softened. Be careful not to boil vigorously, or the ingredients may fall apart.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a food processor, draining well. Discard the cooking liquid.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and pulse the salsa until it is very smooth, with specks of chile de arbol. This is NOT a chunky salsa.

Cool completely. Stir in the cilantro, then taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

What is Salsa Casera used for?

This is a very typical salsa that goes well with all kinds of basic Mexican dishes. It is a very mild salsa that you’ll find in most homes throughout Mexico!

Serve this all-purpose table salsa on my Beef Enchiladas or pour it over your own enchiladas or burritos. Some other serving ideas are to add it to scrambled eggs or homemade chicken noodle soup for a little kick and flavor!

How to store your Salsa

Keep your cooked and cooled Salsa Casera in an airtight container. Reuse a lidded glass jar or another container. I don’t recommend plasticware as tomato-based dips and sauces tend to stain them. But if plastic is all you have on hand, spray the inside of the container with some cooking spray and that will help minimize the stains from the tomatoes. I do this for pasta sauces as well!

Can you freeze Salsa Casera?

Yes, you can absolutely freeze salsa! Place it in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. After that, the flavors start to break down.

More Mexican-Inspired Dishes

• These Mexican Street Corn and Chorizo Tacos are the perfect handheld treat – making them a great weeknight dinner option or game day finger food! 

• You’ll love my Spicy Tequila Shrimp Tacos, stuffed with Mexican Rice and Cilantro Lime Cream.

• This Mexican Corn Salad is dressed in a fresh lime cumin vinaigrette. It’s so good!
• Our Mexican Sloppy Joe Sweet Potatoes are made with ground beef, homemade taco seasoning, and your favorite ingredients for a delicious twist on an old favorite.
• If you love your margaritas, you’ve got to try this Skinny Sparkling Margarita or these tart Frozen Cherry Margaritas.

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Salsa Casera

Salsa Casera is a simmered fresh tomato salsa filled with flavorful spices. Whip up a batch of this, and you might never eat a single bite of your favorite store-bought salsa brand again!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Salsa Casera

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 9 servings

Calories 17kcal

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Water
• 3 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 6 Medium Tomatillos Husked And Washed
• 3 Medium Roma Tomatoes
• ½ White Onion Diced
• 1 Whole Clove Optional
• 4 Large Cloves Garlic
• 1 Jalapeño Stemmed
• 1 Chile De Arbol* Stemmed
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Cilantro Optional

Instructions

• In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the water, 2 teaspoons of the salt, tomatillos, tomatoes, onion, clove, garlic, and chiles. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the tomatillos are just softened. Be careful not to boil vigorously, or the ingredients may fall apart.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a food processor, draining well. Discard the cooking liquid.
• Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and pulse the salsa until it is very smooth, with specks of chile de arbol. Cool completely.
• Stir in the cilantro, then taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Notes

Author’s Notes: Quick to make and infinitely useful, this very typical salsa is made in every home in every region of Mexico in some form or another. You can use salsa casera as an all-purpose table salsa, and it is ideal for all kinds of basic, home-style cooking (see Serving Ideas). I consider this a very mild salsa, but to throttle back the heat even more, substitute chiles such as Anaheim and dried guajillo for the jalapeño and chile de arbol. Conversely, double the chiles for more kick.

*My Notes: Because it can be hard to find chile de arbol and dried guajillo at most grocery stores I also tried out the recipe by substituting 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

This recipe makes 2 ¼ cups of salsa. Nutritional information has been calculated for ¼ cup per person. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 17kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 780mg | Potassium: 131mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.3mg

This post was originally published 4/1/16. It has been updated in format and with pictures on 2/10/23.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. I did not receive any compensation for this review and all opinions are my own.

Reprinted with permission from Salsas and Moles, by Deborah Schneider, copyright © 2015, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Book Cover Photograph copyright © 2015 by Maren Caruso

The post Salsa Casera appeared first on Easy Recipes From Home.

Pictures updated October 2015

Remember back to Beer Month and I had all of those amazing recipes with beer? Well the biggest hit with the boys were the beer battered onion rings. And even though beer month is over cooking with it never is!

For Memorial Day weekend John went fishing with his aunt & uncle and caught a ton of bass at the family farm. We haven’t been eating a ton of seafood up here because let’s be honest Indiana is not as close to the water as we would like.  With all the fish they caught, the first night we grilled them, and the next night all I could think about were fish tacos. Which is weird for me because when I was a kid I hated seafood.

But the first time I ever had fish tacos I believe was one weekend when I came home from college and Mama & I decided to play around with a recipe. We went to Harry’s Market and got some halibut, coleslaw, asiago cheese, and a maple chipotle sauce mixed with mayonnaise. Isn’t it funny how a little memory like that stays with you forever?

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Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Avocado Corn Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 pound bass or another white fish, cut into 1-2 inch wide x 4 inch pieces
• 4 flour tortillas

Chipotle Crema

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Salsa

• 3 earns of corn husks and silks removed (or 1 can of corn)
• 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper seeds removed, finely diced
• 1 avocado pitted and diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Batter

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 bottle of beer
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Prepare the Salsa

• Saute onion, bell pepper, and corn for 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place mixture in bowl with olive oil, lime juice and cilantro. Mix together. Let chill for one hour.

Prepare the Crema

• Add sour cream, chipotle pepper, and lime juice to the food processor. Pulse until fully mixed.

Prepare Batter

• Heat oil in cast iron skillet or deep fryer to 350 degrees.
• Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl. Add in beer. Mix until fully incorporated.
• Soak the fish in the batter.
• Fry the fish until golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes.
• While the fish is frying, take the salsa out of the fridge and stir in diced avocado.

Making the Tacos

• Lay out the tortillas flat and spoon some salsa, followed by a piece of fish and dollop of the chipotle sour cream.

Notes

For a healthier version, instead of frying in a beer batter, marinate the fish for 1 hour in old bay seasoning and juice of 1/2 lime. Then grill.

If you are not a fan of spicy food - you might want to use 1/2 of a chipotle pepper (you can store the rest of peppers and sauce in ziploc bag and freeze).

Nutrition

Serving: 4g

Menu This Week:

Sweet Potato & Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

Good Morning Breakfast Burgers

Spring Paella

Dessert: Poached Pears

The post Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Avocado Corn Salsa appeared first on Easy Recipes From Home.