Name: Mexican-Style Salsa Cruda
Total time: 10 min
Cuisine: MexicanLatin America & Caribbean
Ingredients: 2 medium tomatoes cut into a medium dice (peeling and seeding optional); 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves; 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion; 1 teaspoon minced garlic; 1/2 jalapeño chile , seeded and minced

Why This Recipe Works

For the best raw tomato and salsa recipes we discovered that peeling tomatoes for raw sauces is optional and that seeding causes them to lose much of their juice. For uncooked sauce recipes—especially for pasta—we wanted as much juice as possible so we made seeding an optional step. We found that salting, which some cooks like to do to intensify the tomato flavor and to draw out their juices, only made the tomatoes saltier. We also found that when our tomatoes were less than perfect, a pinch of sugar sprinkled on after dicing boosted their flavor significantly.

Before You Begin

Serve with scrambled eggs, grilled meat or fish, or Mexican dishes. You can also add 1/4 cup red bell pepper to this salsa.

Instructions

Mix all ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in a medium bowl. The mixture can be set aside at room temperature for a couple of hours, but should not be refrigerated or it will lose flavor.