My Three Easy and Best Salsa Recipes |Pico de Gallo | Salsa Verde | Guacamole

I need reasons to make these dips and gorge on corn chips. Cinco De Mayo is near and what better way to celebrate than making three dips at once and having fun. The hardest part is dicing the veggies. Especially if you need to make a giant batch. But, it's so worth it! Pico de Gallo This delicious, easy Pico de Gallo recipe is made from fresh tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro, with a touch of salt and lime juice! Fresh and crisp! Ingredients (Serving size 1/2 cup yields 12)
8 large roma tomatoes, seeded and diced 2 red onions, diced 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced (you can opt for Serrano peppers too) 2 limes, juiced 1-2 tsp kosher salt 1 cup chopped cilantro 1 tbsp roasted cumin powder 5 cloves of chopped garlic (totally optional)- I love the garlicky taste in my salsa Note: Chop the veggies finely to make the perfect salsa. Instructions
Cut all tomatoes, onions and jalapenos VERY VERY fine dice. Combine in a bowl with the lime juice, cilantro, roasted cumin powder and 1 tsp of the salt. Mix and taste. If desired add in additional salt. Allow flavors to mingle before serving, for at least an hour. Serve with chips- of late I love the flavors of Cassava flour chips I bought from Target. Either way this salsa tastes great with Corn chips as well. Note: Pico de gallo , referred to as salsa fresco, is a type of salsa . It's a fresh, uncooked mixture of chopped tomatoes and onions, cilantro, fresh chiles, lime juice, and salt. While traditional salsa has a thinner consistency with more liquid, pico de gallo is chunky, with each chopped ingredient distinctly visible. Sometimes a bitter flavor is caused by the liquids or ingredients you use to spice up pico de gallo . A tablespoon or two of lime juice adds freshness and punch, but any more than that can cause bitterness , especially as the pico de gallo is refrigerated. Pico de gallo keeps well in the refrigerator , covered, for up to 4 days. Salsa Verde This might be the best Salsa Verde you ever had. The recipe includes roasted tomatillos, onion and garlic and makes the perfect appetizer served with chips or with Mexican chipotle bowl. It is actually incredibly easy to make salsa verde at home. Toss in all the ingredients into the food processor or blender and its ready in less than 2 minutes. This easy homemade salsa is so much cheaper than store-bought. The recipe costs me about 3 dollars and it makes over 3 cups of fresh delicious salsa! You can make this recipe based on your taste. Like it spicy? Add another jalapeño. Want more zest? Add more lime juice. You can adjust the garlic, cilantro, spices, and salt as you please. Ingredients (Yields 4 cups) Half the ingredients to make 2 cups
1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos, about 12, husked and rinsed 3 poblano peppers, halved 1 Serrano pepper Note: You can also use 2-3 Jalapeno peppers instead of Poblano or Serrano peppers 4-5 cloves of garlic 1/2 white onion, chopped 1 handful cilantro juice of 2 limes 1 tbsp roasted cumin salt and pepper, to taste Instructions
Preheat the oven to broil. Place husked tomatillos, poblanos, Serrano pepper, onions and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and broil for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft, juicy, and have dark roasting spots on them. Flip tomatillos and peppers over and boil for another 5 minutes. Alternately, you can roast them on gas on pan. Add 2 tbsp olive oil or oil of your choice and roast all the vegetables until charred. Remove from the oven/pan and let cool for 10 minutes. Place the peppers, tomatillos, and garlic in a food processor along with onion, cilantro, lime juice, and cumin. Process until all the vegetables are broken down and resemble salsa. Salt and pepper to taste and transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until chilled all the way through. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Note: For a tomatillo substitute, buy underripe tomatoes and add a squeeze of lime juice. Tomatillos , sometimes called husk tomatoes , look like green, unripe tomatoes with a dry, leafy husk that wraps around the outside. It is easy to tell if salsa has gone bad , just check for significant discoloration and smell changes. If the product has taken on a darker, maroon color, it might have gone bad . If the salsa has become mushier and it emits a rotten, off-odor, toss the product in the trash. Check for presence of mold. For a less tart salsa verde , add ½ teaspoon of sugar at a time. For a tangier salsa verde , add more lime juice. For a spicier salsa verde , add some or all of the jalapeno or serrano seeds – stirring in a little at a time until it reaches your desired heat level. For a more garlicky salsa verde , add more garlic. Guacamole I love my guacamole not only with chips but over my toast, with a burrito or a veggie chipotle bowl. Remember, the best guacamole are made with simple and fresh ingredients. Just ripe avocados, salt, a squeeze of lime, onions, chiles, cilantro, and some chopped tomato. The trick to making perfect guacamole is using ripe avocados that are just the right amount of ripeness . Not ripe enough and the avocado will be hard and tasteless. Too ripe and the taste will be off. Check for ripeness by gently pressing the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe yet and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past ripe and not good. In this case, taste test first before using. Ingredients (2 servings) 2 avocados, ripe 1/2 small onion, finely diced around 1/4 cup 1 Roma tomato, diced (deseed the tomato) - This is totally optional 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced or 1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced/ 1 tbsp garlic powder 1 lime, juiced 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder Instructions Slice the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scoop into a mixing bowl. Mash the avocado with a fork or a potato masher and make it as chunky or smooth as you'd like. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Give it a taste test and add a pinch more salt or lime juice if needed. Serve the guacamole with tortilla chips. Note: Serve immediately, or if making a few hours ahead, place plastic wrap on the surface of the guacamole and press down to cover it and to prevent air reaching it. (The oxygen in the air causes oxidation which will turn the guacamole brown.) Refrigerate until ready to serve. The clean flavor of a white onion is really optimal and important for guacamole. Red onion is a close second, if that's what you have on hand. Let the guacamole sit in the fridge (covered tightly) for at least an hour or more. This allows the flavors time to really spread. I found that 3 hours was the best time frame to allow it to sit . You don't have to do this if you don't have time. You can use an oven or a microwave to ripen your avocado . For this, you will have to wrap your avocado thoroughly and properly in a foil of aluminum and place it on the baking dish, and put it inside the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees. Keep checking on its softness every ten minutes.