Homemade Salsa sans Cilantro

I don’t even know where the year has gone. Here is it December. We are in the heart of entertaining season. So what do you do when you need a 5 minute app: Whole30 Homemade Salsa sans Cilantro.

I had no idea just how easy homemade salsa is until a friend told me about how he makes using canned tomatoes. It’s just 5 minutes from start to finish. And the end product is so delicious, you will want eat it straight from the food processor with a spoon. Skip the chips!

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Homemade Salsa sans Cilantro

So I started with my friend’s recipe, but the only problem with his recipe is the cilantro. And I don’t know about you, but cilantro tastes like soap to me. Someone once told me that it’s actually a gene that determines whether you taste cilantro as something pleasant or not.

Apparently neither my husband or I have that gene, so we always sub it out or just leave out cilantro, but the salsa lacked something without it. It seems a little like a contradiction, maybe we’ll call it fusion, but the perfect ingredient substitution is Italian parsley. And, it is perfect. With chopped onion, minced garlic and jalapeno and the parsley, it just tastes so fresh.

And did I mention that it is E A S Y. Quarter a sweet onion. Throw it in the food processor (We love our Ninja <–affiliate link). Mince a few cloves of garlic. Add them too. Grab a handful of fresh parsley and jalapeno to your heat liking. Whirl those around. Add a can of diced tomatoes, some cumin and some salt. Pulse a few times so as not to over process the tomatoes. That’s it. You’re done. Eat with a spoon straight from the bowl of the food processor. Or refrigerate up to a week, but I am not really sure how you can even manage that.

Controlling the Heat

So just how hot is this Homemade Salsa sans Cilantro, you may be asking yourself.  And I’ve played around with that a little.  The first time, I had a pretty small jalapeno, so I cut the stem off and threw the rest into the food processor.  It was almost so hot we couldn’t eat it.  Almost.  So if that’s the way you like it.  Go for it.

The next time, I went in the opposite direction: half a jalapeno, no seeds.  That batch ended up very mild.  Perfect for our littles with their delicate palates.  But, they are not big salsa eaters, so we have settled on half a jalapeno WITH the seeds which makes what I would call medium and seems to be perfect for us. 

Weeknight Simple

This salsa definitely qualifies as weeknight simple (Taco Tuesday anyone?) and falls into the category of “I think I’ll never buy store bought again.”  It is a perfect topper for Venison Tacos (which can really be made with any ground meat and also fall into the category of “I think I’ll never buy store bought again.”) or Smoked Venison Fajitas or Taco Salad or Venison Taco Burgers or just in a bowl with chips. 

So go ahead.  Make a batch and serve it up at your next holiday gathering.  Your friends will marvel at the deliciousness and you’ll never have to confess just how easy it is.