Salsa Rojo

This is a perfect accompaniment for tamales, eggs, or as a "restaurant style" salsa for chips. But it is at its best when served as an accompaniment for pupusas--the national dish of El Salvador (click here for recipe).

A couple quick notes: You can adjust the hotness by adding or subtracting hot peppers. Also, if you don’t use completely ripe tomatoes, the salsa will have a sour flavor. I recommend you use only very ripe, sweet tomatoes if you wish to avoid this.

4-6 Serrano chilies, stems removed (or equivalent jalapeños, cayenne or other hot peppers—use a couple habeneros if you want really hot salsa)
6 vine-ripened tomatoes, stemmed and quartered
¼ large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 veggie bouillon cube
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP canola oil (optional)

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Puree until fairly smooth, but still has a bit of chunky texture to it.

Put salsa in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until you reach consistency of a fairly thin (but not watery) salsa, stirring frequently. Depending on the juiciness of your tomatoes, this can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. 45 minutesr is about the average for store-bough tomatoes (and if you have really meaty garden tomatoes, you might have actually have to add a bit of water).

Remove from heat. Chill before serving.