Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Cook's Guide entry for Salsa along with all the recipes employing Salsa presented on this site, with 119 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Salsa recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Salsa as a major wild food ingredient.

A salsa is any of a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. They may be raw or cooked, and are generally served at room temperature.

Though the word salsa simply means ‘sauce’ in Spanish; in English, it generally refers more specifically to these Mexican table sauces, especially to the chunky tomato and chilli based pico de gallo, as well as to salsa verde.

Tortilla chips with salsa are a ubiquitous appetizer in Mexican-American restaurants, but not in Mexico itself.

The use of salsa as a table dip was popularized by Mexican restaurants in the United States. In the 1980s, tomato-based Mexican-style salsas gained in popularity. In 1992, the dollar value of salsa sales in the United States exceeded those of tomato ketchup.

Salsa is a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine, served as a condiment with tacos, stirred into soups and stews, or incorporated into tamale fillings. Salsa fresca (eg pico de gallo) is fresh salsa made with tomatoes and hot peppers. Salsa verde is made with cooked tomatillos and is served as a dip or sauce for chilaquiles, enchiladas, and other dishes. Chiltomate is a widely used base sauce made of tomatoes and chillies. The type of pepper used for chiltomate varies by region, with fresh green chillies being more common than habanero in Chiapas. Tamales are often identified according to the type of salsa they are filled with, either salsa verde, salsa roja, salsa de rajas, or salsa de mole.

Mexican salsas were traditionally produced using the mortar–like molcajete (a rough granite mortar), although blenders or food processors are now used. Mexican salsas include:

• Salsa roja, one of the two most common and well known types of salsa, ‘red sauce’, is used as a condiment in Mexican and Southwestern (U.S.) cuisines; usually includes cooked tomatoes, chillies, onion, garlic, and fresh coriander.



• Salsa verde or ‘green sauce’ is typically a cooked salsa made from a base of tomatillos or green tomatoes with chillies, onion, garlic and herbs.



• Salsa cruda, ‘raw sauce’, is an uncooked mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeño chilies, and cilantro.