Salsa, is the Spanish term for sauce. It refers to tomato based hot sauces.
Salsa is traced back to the indigenous Aztec, Mayan and Inca Indians who would mix tomatoes, chilis and other spices together to add flavor to their food. The land was rich and perfect for growing tomatoes, which during the time had not yet been introduced to any other region off the mainland. It was not until the Spaniard’s conquest of Mexico 1519-1521, that salsa was named.
The Spaniards learned of salsa and the practice of making it the Aztec lords who would smash squash seeds together with tomatoes and chile to make a sauce. They would then use this sauce as a condiment with turkey, venison, and seafood. This combination was later named salsa by Spanish priest and missionary, Alonso de Molina, in 1571. (http://saucealacarte.wordpress.com/mexican-salsas/).
There are a lot of salsa recipes. I like the original one. This is what they serve in all the restaurants in any region in Mexico, for free.
Ingredients: 4 bigger tomatoes, skinned and unseeded, or 10-15 cherry tomatoes. 1 medium red onion, 1 small bunch of fresh coriander, salt, a lime, a chilli.
With a sharp knife we cut the vegetables, mix them with the chopped coriander, season it with salt and lime juice (sometimes I don’t put lime juice, I like it better without). Serve it with tortilla chips.
I make it often for afternoon snack, or when I expect friends. Especially in summer time, I serve it with really cold bear.
