Contest Winner! Blender Tomato or Mango Salsa

No chopping, dicing, or mincing here! My family has been making this easy and fresh salsa for years. Both my father and I have won salsa contests with this recipe as the base and have tweaked it with the optional seasonings listed. You can also control the heat by seeding the peppers or omitting the serrano, but we prefer the heat and flavor of both peppers. I usually add a pinch of sugar which intensifies the flavor of the peppers but my father doesn't. A fantastic basic recipe to play with... so easy, you'll never buy jarred salsa again!

• Ready In: 5 mins
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 2-3 cups

Ingredients

• 1  cup fresh cilantro (handful of leaves)
• 1⁄4 large sweet onion
• 1  jalapeno pepper, fresh, stem removed
• 1  serrano pepper, fresh, stem removed (optional, will bring the HEAT!)
• 4  garlic cloves, fresh
• 1  teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
• 1  tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole canned tomatoes, drained

• OPTIONAL for tomato salsa

•  liquid smoke
•  cumin
•  chili powder
•  black pepper
•  sugar

Directions

1. Add ingredients, in the order listed, to your blender. (You must add the tomatoes last so that the smaller ingredients are chopped properly.).
2. Pulse to desired consistency.
3. Mango Salsa - Substitute fresh ripe mango for the tomato and red onion for the sweet onion. I serve this with Puerco Pibil, Jerk Chicken and Carribean Black Beans. I don't use the optional seasonings for mango salsa and sometimes add orange juice with the lime juice.