The salsa roja recipe is popular. Ridiculously popular. But we had some company in town and I needed salsa fast — nigh onto immediately. Rick Bayless recipe to the rescue! This is quick and easy, and simple to tweak:
You’ll need:
- 1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles (my late-season ones from the garden weren’t that hot so I used 5)
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire roasted
- 1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Salt
Easy steps to yum:
- Heat an ungreased skillet over medium heat and roast the chiles and garlic, turning often until they’re splotchy and brown and soft — this takes about 10 minutes for the chiles, and 15 minutes for the garlic
- Cool until you can handle them, then roughly chop the chiles, discarding caps, and drop into food processor
- Peel the garlic and scoop the softened cloves into a food processor; pulse until very finely chopped
- Add the tomatoes with their juice to the food processor then pulse until puree is coarse
- Pour into serving dish and stir in cilantro and lime juice, and salt to taste — about 1/2-3/4 teaspoon
- Serve and enjoy!
One Particular Kitchen 
This salsa looks great. I’m so glad you spelled “jalapeños” correctly haha. I just started noticing Rick Bayless a few days ago when I watched an episode about mole rojo. This salsa looks so rich. I’ve bookmarked this in my reader.
Ha! Yes, spelling is key, isn’t it? 😉 Thanks, lady!
Bookmarked! Our favorite place to grab burgers out has a fire-roasted salsa that’s to die for. Can’t wait to try this one.
Looks great!
Looks delicious!
Easy and delicious! And I just happen to have a can of fire roasted tomatoes in the cupboard I didn’t know what to do with. 🙂
Sacrilige! 😉
I had to tell you that I’ve made this twice and it is outstanding! We love it! The first time I was a chicken and scraped out the seeds, and it was good, but a little blah. Still great though! The second time I left them all in and the spice was just right! Thanks!
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This is a fabulous salsa, even better if you grill fresh tomatoes as opposed to using canned. One might also experiment with adding a different chile to enhance the flavor- maybe an ancho, poblano, or even chipotle along with the roasted jalapenos- the possibilities are endless! Even better if you fry your own corn tortilla chips!