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Fresh Salsa

This recipe is basic make it a few times and you’ll find ways to vary it to perfectly suit your tastes.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

12 plum tomatoes
1 large white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chile powder, or to taste
Salt
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Broil the tomatoes as close to the heat source as you can get them, until blistered and a little blackened, 5 to 10 minutes.

    Step 2

    Put them in a blender, skins and all, with the onion, garlic, chile powder, and a big pinch of salt. Whir until chunky, then stir in the cilantro by hand. This is best used right away but will retain decent flavor, refrigerated, for a day or two.

From Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes From the New York Times by Mark Bittman Copyright (c) 2007 by Mark Bittman Published by Broadway Books. Mark Bittman is the author of the blockbuster Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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