I’ve always been a (lazy) jarred salsa kind of girl. Last summer while camping, we had delicious, fresh salsa that was whipped up by my friend’s 14 year old daughter. I asked for the recipe, but couldn’t recreate it. It just wasn’t the same.
I tweaked it and tweaked it and found out that simple is better.
Here’s what I came up with.
- a big handful of fresh cilantro
- half a white onion
- clove of garlic
- a fresh jalapeno pepper
- 1 large can peeled whole tomatoes (or 2 small cans) UNDRAINED
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- salt to taste
Grab a big handful of cilantro (more if you love the stuff) and toss it into your food processor. Don’t worry about the stems.
Pulse a few times.
Chop your white onion in half, peel and quarter. (Tip of the Day: If you only need half an onion, make sure you use the sprout/top side of the onion. Save the side with the root in a sandwich baggie. The onion will keep much longer. Perhaps it still thinks it is growing…? Is smart onion…?)
Toss the quartered onion on top of the cilantro.
Lop off the top of a jalapeno pepper. Toss it and the clove of garlic into the processor too.
Pulse until chopped. (If you just hit the ON button, you wind up with cilantro-onion-jalapeno puree… you want it kind of chunky, so use the pulse button.)
Add your tomatoes.
Do Not Drain.
This is the important part. This is what makes it taste so good.
Take the beef bouillon cube and let it sit in a little bit of water. Mash it up with a fork until it breaks down into a crumbly/pasty looking mess.
Drop it in with the tomatoes and pulse. Ta-Da! Fabulous, fresh salsa.
(If this whole process takes you longer than 3 minutes, you shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen anymore.)
Of course, if you like it really spicy add a second jalapeno, etc. It’s a very forgiving recipe. Tweak it as you please.
This is soooo good.
And? It’s almost zero fat, but it packs a ton of flavor. We eat it with chips, (duh) but we also mix big spoonfuls of it into shredded chicken.
I don’t mind watching my fat intake, as long as it still tastes good.
Enjoy!
sounds SO good! thanks so much for the recipe, can’t wait to give it a try 😀
I HATE cilantro. I know. Shoot me now!
But I LOVE salsa and eat it in that all the time.
I will have to try this salsa, I’ve never made my own. True story.
And right now I’m using some jarred salsa as my salad dressing! Seriously!
I will most definitelly be trying this recippee I am a salsa connesseur!
So nice to meet you! What a great recipe. I have a really similar one but with vinegar instead of the beef cube. I am going to have to try that, I bet it gives it a great depth of flavor. Stop by for a visit.
Sounds delicious!!! I can’t believe that MiMi doesn’t like cilantro!!
~Becca
Sounds delicious!!! I can’t believe that MiMi doesn’t like cilantro!!
~Becca
What a great post! I love fresh salsa and I’m always looking for a tweak that launches it into the stratosphere. The beef bouillon has got me curious.
Nothing is better than fresh salsa and its so easy to make!
My problem with low cal salsa is that I want some large cal queso to dip the chips in!
Definitely going to have to try this… sounds deeee-licious
Beef bouillon? Really? I have to be honest that’s up there with your chocolate chip bacon cookies {which BTW you must bring to A for us to try!}!
Sigh…now you just intimidate me…:-)) Homemade salsa…really??? If your next post is super-easy homemade chips, I might hate you…JK :-))
And…now I want chips and salsa…
I {heart} salsa – any kind. I have a few fave recipes…but a bouillon cube – that must give a new flavor – must try it!
Looks and sounds good!!
Here in New Mexico we use Green Chilies. Instead of Jalapeno!!
Or you can use red chilies. But I prefer green. A more honest “hot”!!
Ha!
Hugs
SueAnn
Two weeks ago….I had a salsa craving so strong that I went to TWO mexican restaurants in two days. And then I bought a jar of salsa and a bag of chips!
I love chips and salsa so much! I could eat it as a meal.
I’ll give you ONE guess who doesn’t like salsa.
I know you know NO this one.
Also…I think I’m going to have to break up with Mimi because she hates cilantro.
*frowny face*
Love me some salsa!!! This looks delish, can’t wait to try it!!
You mentioned that you couldn’t recreate the recipe. I suggest a good squirt of fresh lime juice. It brings the flavors alive.
Even when I can my salsa in bulk I pour a spoonful of fresh lime juice into each jar before the heat processing and when we open a jar the lime flavor is still bright and makes the salsa taste freshly made.
Hi stopping by from Friday blog hop
I love and make homemade salsa too
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This looks REALLY good and is now giving me cravings to actually wipe the drool off my mouth, get dressed, and leave the house to go to the market and buy ingredients. HOW DARE YOU motivate me from my warm home to the bitter cold. You should be ashamed!
Pop on over to my new linky party, Foodie Friday and link up! This is just what the doctor ordered to get the party rollin’!
Oh – and I am your newest follower…
I love salsa. I’m always looking for new ones to try. YUM! The whole beef boullian thing is throwing me a little I must admit. I’ve been making Civiche lately… OMG YUUUM!!!
Oh & I think I need to drive over to Mimi’s right now & kicke her a##… she doens’t like cilantro but likes salsa??? Can you like one without the other??? lol
Ooh, how much I miss good salsa after moving from Texas to Germany! I’m definitely gonna try this one! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing!
xoxo,
Vanessa