Chipotle Salsa Recipe
What in the world is a Chipotle? Simply a smoked Jalapeno chile pepper.
You will be able to find them dried or canned in a tomato based adobo sauce. Chipotles are most widely available canned in a sauce (7-oz. size). The sauce, usually called adobo, is made with vinegar and spices.
The chilies are also sold dried; you’re most apt to find these in Mexican markets, particularly in Southern California.
Dried chipotles keep indefinitely.
If you use the canned ones, transfer the unused chilies and sauce to a small jar and refrigerate up to a week, or freeze to store longer.
You can thaw and refreeze chilies until all are used. When cooking chipotles in liquid, the dried and canned forms can be used interchangeably.
Simply rehydrate the dried ones or used the canned ones right out of the can for easy use.
- 4 medium-sized fresh ripe tomatoes
- 1 small bunch of cilantro (about 8 to 10 long pieces with leaves)
- 1 fresh lime
- 1 medium onion
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 to 3 chipotle chilies, canned in adobo sauce
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- Wash and core the tomatoes.
- Wash and dry the cilantro between layers of paper towels. I like to remove the leaves from the stems but, this is not necessary.
- Peel onion, now cut the tomatoes and onion in quarters to prepare for the food processor.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the chipotles.
- Place all the prepared vegetables and the chipotles in food processor along with the cilantro. Squeeze lime juice into the blender.
- Place lid on food processor and blend. For chunkier salsa, pulse the food processor only for a few seconds. For smoother textured salsa, process to your desired consistency.
- If you don't have a food processor, a blender will work as well or you can chop all ingredients by hand and mix in bowl. Now where is my molcajete?
- For extra zip, add dried pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste.
- You can enhance the smokey flavor of your Chipotle Salsa Recipe by adding a tablespoon or two of the adobo sauce the chipotles came in.
- Allow the salsa to chill if you can for a couple of hours.
Chipotle Salsa With Roasted Tomatillos
Thanks to Casey Draper for Chipotle Salsa With Roasted Tomatillos. This is one Tasty Salsa!
How Do You Core a Tomato?
Here is a tip from Chowhound he is going to show you two simple ways in his short video “How to Core a Tomato”
Capt’n Salsa’s tips and facts about Chipotles Chiles
Freeze the any left over chipotles by placing individual chiles on a cookie sheet, devide the remaining adobo sauce equally among the chiles. This will look like “chipotle cookies” then place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer.
Place the frozen chiles in a freezer bag and use as needed. These will keep for at least a year in the freezer.
A chipotle chili is not a variety of chili.
It’s a mature red jalapeno that is smoked as it dries, acquiring a pungent flavor and aroma that can be detected despite its assertive heat. Here is a great idea to use this exceptional flavor to use without an explosion?
Try minced canned chipotles alone, or blend with mayonnaise, as a sauce with bite to go with fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, or hard-cooked eggs. Simmer a lone chipotle in chicken soup, then add fresh lime juice to smooth the hot edge.
