Restaurant Style Salsa

I've recently rediscovered the Pioneer Woman. This may sound a little strange, but I went to her blog off and on several years ago. For some reason, it was really confusing to me. This was before my Google Reader days, and all those different forums - photography, cooking, etc. - were just overwhelming, so much to the point that I didn't visit very often. After all the buzz about her cookbook tour this past Fall, I added her to my Google Reader and have been pleasantly surprised. I see why so many people love her blog. I know it will be a great resource for me when I finally take the plunge and get a DSLR camera too!

Recently PW posted this Restaurant Style Salsa. Now, I have two favorite salsa recipes already (here and here), but her pictures looked so good and I figured it couldn't hurt to try another, so I made it for Superbowl. The problem is that I now have 3 favorite salsas! I can't decide among them! The black bean(less) salsa is an entirely different beast in my mind, but PW's is very similar to this one, yet I love them both. Maybe someday I will make them side by side, but I have a feeling I will just keep going back and forth between them :) Plus, each batch makes a LOT of salsa!

PW's salsa is exceptionally fresh tasting, despite not having any fresh tomatoes. It's really delicious. With how quick and simple it is to whip up a batch of fresh salsa, it makes me think twice about buying it from the store (Unless Rick Bayless's Frontera salsa is on sale of course!) As of now, I plan to keep making all of these salsas, and often :)

Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice

2 10-ounce cans Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies*

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin*

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup cilantro (more to taste)

juice from 1/2 lime

*PW used 1 can regular and 1 can mild Rotel and included the seeds/ribs of the jalapeno. I could only find regular Rotel, so I began by leaving out the ribs and seeds. It wasn't quite spicy enough, so I dumped them in. Then it was pretty spicy, maybe a little too spicy. Use your judgement depending on the heat you prefer!

Directions:

1. Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you the salsa to the consistency you prefer (around 10 to 15 pulses).

2. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip (love this part!) and adjust as needed.

3. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or your favorite Mexican fare.

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks