E-Z Salsa

Few things make me happier than sitting down to a basket of warm, salty tortilla chips and a bowl of freshly made salsa.

It’s funny, too, how much salsas vary from one Mexican restaurant to another, when they’re all made from the same basic ingredients – there’s a tomato or tomatillo base, and then, onion, garlic, cilantro, and some sort of chile.

This is a recipe for salsa based on my favorite hometown Tex-Mex joint, Mazatlan, which, by the way, is located in an old Dairy Queen, next to the Holiday Lanes bowling alley. You gotta love that.

This salsa is about as basic as it can get, but wait until you scoop your tortilla chip into a bowl of this — you’ll hear mariachis playing in your head.

Enjoy the show.

Mazatlan’s Salsa

1 32 oz can diced tomatoes
1 small white onion
½ bunch cilantro (appx 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper (to taste)
3 jalapenos (fresh is best but in Paris, I use pickled)
vegetable oil

1. Drizzle a bit of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and add the onions, then the garlic. Turn on medium heat and cook until the onions become translucent, 5-10 minutes.

2. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, salt and freshly ground pepper. Let cook for about 5 minutes, and with a hand blender, puree.

Serve immediately.