A spicy, bright, and delicious Mexican salsa roja made with only 4 ingredients! Perfect to pair with your favorite meals or eat as appetizer with tortilla chips.
Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Add tomatoes and boil for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add arbol chilies, cover, and allow to soak for 10 minutes.
Add garlic and salt to a molcajete or mortar alongside half of the chilies.
Grind until you'll have a paste and then repeat with the remaining chilies.
Add one tomato at a time and grind well before adding the next.
Keep grinding until the salsa has your desired consistency. Adjust salt to taste and serve.
Using a Blender
Place arbol chilies, garlic, salt, and one tomato in a blender.
Blend for a couple of seconds then add the remaining tomatoes and blend until your desired consistency.
Transfer the salsa to a bowl or jar and adjust the salt to taste. Serve.
Notes
To integrate well the tomato skins, twist and smash them against the molcajete borders. If tomatoes are well cooked, they should be very soft and easy to combine with the rest of the ingredients.
The more you’ll grind, the smoother your salsa will be. For a chunky texture, grind less.
Simplicity is the key to this recipe. However, you can add a twist to the recipe using other ingredients, such as a pinch of cumin seeds, or oregano.