I just made my first salsa and it isn’t bad, but taste more like gazpacho. I used canned tomatoes whole tomatoes, cilantro, lime, a jalapeño, kosher salt. Any suggestions? I added more lime and a Serrano pepper which helped somewhat. Any other seasonings recommend?
by CryOk5413
10 Comments
Cut your lime in three to four, mostly equal parts. More juice!
Keep practicing!
Minced onion. And lots of it. Maybe a clove or two of garlic.
A tablespoon or to taste of Better Than Bullion low salt chicken goo. A lot of people like cilantro…some do not. Next time be sure to use authentic Italian Marzano whole tomatoes and pour off most of the juice in the can. There is a big difference in canned tomatoes.
I forgot I added 2 garlic cloves as well
I add one pepper per tomato.
I also know this is unconventional, but I also add smoked paprika, and a tiny bit of cumin.
Add a quarter of a white onion, more jalapeño, more lime, and more cilantro.
Try cutting your limes the other way when juicing them.
Ngl, sometimes I lean into the gazpacho angle and actually add habanero, half a carrot, and a stalk of celery to my uncooked tomato salsas/salsa caseras/blended Pico de Gallo/whatever you want to call it. It’s spectacular, and with chips practically a meal unto itself.
I like a little cumin in mine. Tastes more like Chillis salsa. Also use a fine strainer to drain water for a better consistency if it’s to your liking.
What do you think it’s missing? Is it too tomato-y? Add more onion. Isn’t spicy or complex enough? More peppers, more garlic. Careful with garlic, though. There’s a fine line between “this is nice and garlicky” and “I have had dragon breath for three days now”. Onion can be overdone, too. Splitting your onion between one part roasted onion and one part fresh onion can take down the overpowering nature and add more complexity and sweetness. Finally, sour/tang. If it’s still too “gazpacho”, adding some more of your acid will help. More lime juice, or a bit of vinegar works for me. Again, small doses until you have the balance right, and don’t use strongly flavored vinegar (like ACV) unless you’re only using a tiny amount. Adding some dry spices can help, too. Paprika, cumin, coriander, even onion powder and garlic powder can add a boost. Again, small amounts until the balance is right.
One of the most important steps is letting it sit for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. That usually makes a big difference for me. The more canned ingredients I use, the longer I might want to let it sit.
Edit: looking at your recipe, I don’t see garlic mentioned. I think that will help. Start with one clove and go from there, depending on how garlicky you like your food.
Put more chili peppers than tomato.
Fresh tomatoes>canned by a long shot. It looks like you have too high of a ratio of tomatoes to other ingredients, especially using canned tomatoes. More lime, cilantro, onions, and garlic might help.
Do you like spicy or not?
You can add peppers like fresh Pasilla or Anaheim to give more pepper flavor without too much extra spice.
For dried, you can use guajillos for little spice and arbol for kick. Just simmer them for 15 minutes before blending.
As far as seasonings go, chicken bullion or MSG helps round the flavors out.
You can also try broiling fresh roma tomatoes, garlic, and peppers until blackened.
Here’s my salsa roja recipe. If you want mild-medium heat use reduce the number of arbols to 3-4 increase number of guajillos to 4.
15 dried Arbol
3 dried Guajillo
5 red fresno peppers
1 jalapeño
6 roma tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic
1 large white onion
Half cup of cilantro
Salt, pepper, msg and lime juice to taste
2 tablespoons powdered black garlic
Instructions-
Simmer the Arbol and Guajillo peppers for 10-15 minutes. While simmering, broil the tomatoes, fresno peppers, jalapeño, and garlic until blackened.
Let everything cool. De stem the peppers.
Add all ingredients to blender/food processor and blend for 2 minutes.