If you’ve read this site for long, you’ll know that I prefer spicy food. Sometimes very spicy food. But, recently a good friend asked me to try to replicate a salsa from a closed Tex-Mex spot in Des Moines (shoutout Raul’s). The salsa was described to me as “super thin, super simple, all red”. A mild salsa through and through.
Luckily, my friend had a jar of this salsa so we could try it and then try to make our own.
The first time we tried, it was close, but definitely not right. After a few adjustments, we got pretty close and, while this salsa isn’t the style I like, I know there are plenty of people out there that don’t like spicy stuff and this is a great mild salsa option!
Origins of this Mild Salsa Recipe
I’ve never been to Raul’s in Des Moines, but it was one of my friend’s favorite Tex-Mex places. They closed now, but do still sell their salsa if you happen to live in the area.
As always when reverse-engineering a recipe, it’s worth noting that I have no actual idea what their recipe is. I did my best, but I’m sure it’s not 100% accurate.
Don’t come at me Raul’s folks!
What types of tomatoes to use
The first time I tried this recipe, we used fresh tomatoes and it wasn’t my favorite. It was too watery and the color was way off.
So we tried it with just plain canned tomatoes (no salt is best) and the color was perfect. I’m fairly certain they just use canned tomatoes, which is great for the home cook since they are always available.
If you’re looking for a fresh salsa, try this Grilled Salsa!
How to add flavor to tomatoes without spice
The tricky part of this salsa is to add some good flavor to the salsa without adding a lot of heat. I did this by using mild dried New Mexico chiles and fresh garlic and simmering the tomatoes with the chiles and garlic for a few minutes, infusing the flavors, but then remove the chiles before blending.
This worked really well and gave the mild salsa a deep flavor without adding a bunch of heat to it.
Of course, you can add the simmered chiles into the blender as well to add more heat to this mix.
Blending the mild salsa
Once you have the tomatoes, chiles, and garlic simmered and rested for a few minutes, add them to a blender with the spices and fresh lime juice. You can add a little salt now as well, but just know that the tasting for salt and adjusting is an end step for this recipe.
When blending the salsa, pulse it in bursts so it blends but doesn’t get completely smooth.
When it’s in a coarse mixture, pour the salsa into a metal sieve with a bowl underneath. You want to catch the liquid and separate the water from the liquid.
The salsa will be too thin when it is first blended so this separating step is important.
Then you can add the liquid back into the coarse ingredients until you get the desired texture for your salsa. I added about 2/3 of the water back to mine.
How to quickly chill salsa
This salsa when you first do it, will be hot. Some people like hot salsa, but I like chilled or room temperature salsa.
You can obviously stick your mild salsa in the fridge for a few hours to do this or you can place the salsa in a metal bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir it. The ice water will rapidly chill the salsa and you can serve it in just a few minutes.
Before serving the salsa, be sure to taste for salt and adjust it to your liking!
If you like mild salsa, this is the one for you! Give it a shot!
Restaurant Style Mild Salsa
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 28 oz. canned tomatoes
- 3 dried New Mexico chiles, stems removed
- 4 cloves garlic, Crushed
- 1 medium lime, juice only
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, , more to taste
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Add canned tomatoes to a medium pot with water, dried chiles, garlic, and spices and bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes over very low heat.
- Remove from heat and let the salsa steep, covered for 10 minutes.
- Remove dried chiles and garlic from the mixture and transfer to a blender. Add fresh lime. I like to add one chile back to the mix (remove seeds first). It will add a very mild chile flavor to the salsa. You could add all three if you wanted or none.
- Pulse mixture in a blender until it's a coarse consistency. I like it not too chunky.
- Strain the salsa mixture through a metal sieve, separating the chunks from the water. Then add the liquid to the chunks until you reach the consistency you like. I like to add about 2/3s of the water back. That will leave you with a thin, but dippable, salsa.
- If you want to eat the salsa immediately, chill it in a bowl with ice to cool it down fast. Otherwise store in the fridge for at least an hour to chill.
- Once chilled, taste the salsa and adjust for salt to your liking. Serve with chips. Leftover salsa will keep fine in the fridge for a week or you can freeze it for longer storage.
