Secret Recipe Club September: Restaurant Style Salsa

In my second month with the Secret Recipe Club (you can read all about it, and join here!), I was assigned to The Ginger Snap Girl, written by Gloria from Southern California.
Gloria has a lot of delicious looking cake and baking recipes, partly from participating in various cook book groups and challenges. There were several things that looked tempting, but I had already decided that this month, I would not do anything that had to do with baking or desserts, since last month's contribution included both cake and icecream - so I started looking for something savory.

I came across the Chicken Chili, which looked yummy and quite healthy (and I like the idea of using chicken - I used turkey before, which also came out really well, but I can see that Gloria doesn't agree with me :-)) - there was the Chicken and Creamy Mushroom Wild Rice Casserole that also looked really delicious. And there was the Asian Slaw that I have already planned to make for another occasion.
But for the SRC, I decided to settle on something that was easy and quick to make, and would make a nice photo object (meaning, most of all, some nice colours). So I went for the Restaurant Style Salsa, which is originally a Pioneer Woman recipe, adapted by Brown Eyed Baker, and then again adapted by Gloria.
So now, it has a 3rd adaptation by yours truly.

Basically, I used the ingredient list, but changed the quantities of several things and added a little extra of others.

Restaurant Style Salsa:
- adapted from The Ginger Snap Girl (and Pioneer Woman plus Brown Eyed Baker)
makes about 2½-3 cups


Notes:
- I only used half the amount of canned tomatoes but added a big fresh one
- We don't really have anything similar to Rotel's diced tomatoes and green chilies in a can in Denmark, so I left that out, and only used the fresh jalapeño
- I used a little less cilantro, as Hubby is not into it (correction: he hates it) - but leaving it out completely was not an option, since cilantro is a very important part of salsa. So it had to go in there, but in a smaller portion so he wouldn't discover it quite as easily (I ended up eating most of it myself anyway, so next time, I won't be so considerate!)
- I used more salt and sugar - for some reason, it had a really bitter taste at the beginning, which I tried to even out with the salt and sugar - I'm not sure if it was the lime juice or the raw onions, but I had the same problem when I made Salsa Verde/Green Salsa with canned tomatillos recently. At that time, I though it might be a bitter taste from the canned tomatillos, but canned tomatoes do not have that same bitter aftertaste, so for now, I am blaming it on the lime/onions, and will probably cut down a bit on the onions next time, to see if that solves the problem. To add more sweetness, I also added a few slices of some sweet pickled jalapeños.

14 ounce can peeled and chopped tomatoes with juice
1 big fresh tomato, peeled and diced
1/3 cup chopped white onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 chopped jalapeño (at first, I removed the stem, ribbing and seeds, but gradually added most of the ribbing and some seeds to adjust the heat to my taste)
2-3 slices of sweet pickled jalapeño peppers with dill (you could probably use a little honey and extra fresh jalapeños instead, but since it was only used to get rid of the bitter taste, hopefully it won't be necessary for anyone else)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (next time I will go wild and use the full ½ cup)
juice from ½ lime - approx. 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Add everything to a blender and pulse until you have the right consistency. (Mine turned out pretty thin, but luckily I prefer a salsa that is not too chunky). If you want more cilantro-green colour and more concentrated cilantro taste, just chop some of it with a knife instead, and add it at the end, without blending more.
Cover the salsa and chill for a couple of hours in the fridge - it will keep for up to approx. 5 days (if you haven't eaten it. Mine was gone the day after).
Serve with tortilla chips or nachos, or any other Tex-Mex food that requires some good, homemade salsa.
Conclusion:
As I already said, the salsa had a bitter taste at the beginning, which I blame on either the onions or the lime juice, so next time, I will try to use less onion and see if that helps.
The extra sugar and salt, plus the sweet pickled jalapeños helped, though, and after resting in the fridge, there was no more bitternes, and it was all good. 
It wasn't too hot for my taste, but had just the right bite.
I will definately be going back to this recipe, and adjust it until it is perfect for my taste buds.


To see my August contribution for SRC, click here!
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