Red salsa, or salsa roja, is the most popular type of salsa! We see it in Mexican restaurants, in shelf-stable jars or in the fresh food section at the grocery store, and in home refrigerators across the nation.

It is also incredibly easy to make from scratch! And that’s what we are doing today with the help of some salsa experts.

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If you like tacos, kimchi, seasonal produce, and bright flavors, you’re in the right place. I’m Betty, a food writer, recipe developer, home cook, and Southern California gal.

Every Friday in this newsletter, I help you plan meals with California Cuisine recipes to inspire you, no matter where you live in the world. California is the most ethnically diverse state in the U.S. and is home to many peeps from Asia, South America, and the Mediterranean. The cuisine here reflects that and is a beautiful mash-up of flavors!

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Before we dive into red salsas, two bits of news: classes and September series.

Monthly Cooking Classes

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Last week, I had the pleasure of teaching a kimchi workshop where we made two types of kimchi: quick cucumber kimchi and fermented cabbage kimchi. There were 68 lovely readers signed up and ready to learn!

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Coming in September

Because you all loved it this past spring, I’m doing another series of Dinner & Movie nights! Every Friday in September, I review a movie and build a dinner menu with ideas from the film.

I’m super excited about it this time around because I have a special guest chef who is also an actor with a Hollywood film in theaters right now (and no, it’s not Matt Damon, LOL)!

The Dinner & Movie series is a great way to enjoy date night, BFF night, or family night at home, and it all starts next week.

A Month of Salsas

Summery fruit salsas, green salsas, and even dessert salsa have been the topic around here. Today, we are talking about the most popular type of Mexican salsa: red!

Salsa roja is typically made with tomatoes, chili peppers, onion or garlic, lime, salt, and oftentimes cilantro. The red salsa family includes variations like:

* Fresh. Bright, raw, and fresh ingredients go into salsa frescas like pico de gallo.

* Roasted. Veggies get charred in a skillet or under the broiler before being blended together into a salsa asada.

* Cooked. In a salsa ranchera, the tomato and chiles get boiled (cooked) and then pureed into a smooth sauce.

There are so many more types of red salsas! One could compile an encyclopedia of them along with their histories and recipes.

Since I have the pleasure of being acquainted with some serious salsa experts, I want to share their deliciously authentic salsa recipes with you.

If you haven’t yet subscribed to their newsletters, I highly recommend you do!

Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack

Salsa Roja is a craveable restaurant-style salsa that is bright, versatile, and made with just eight ingredients! Dial the spicy factor up or down, depending on your taste.

The recipe is by longtime Mexican American food blogger Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack who writes the award-winning Muy Bueno food blog. She is also a four-time cookbook author, Emmy-winning producer, and author of the Cocina to Career newsletter. Most recently, she was on Food Network’s 100 Cooks.

Regular readers will recognize Yvette from this month’s August Menu Plan, which featured several of her favorite family recipes. She and I also put together a perfect late summer Dinner Party Menu that included her summery shrimp salad and ooey gooey fundido (cheese dip)! So yummy!

To hear my interview with Yvette, listen to the podcast episode I did with her!

Rick Martinez

Salsa Macha is technically not a salsa roja, but I had to include it. I mean, just look at how good it looks!

Similar in texture to the popular chili crisp oils that are everywhere, this salsa includes toasted Mexican dried chiles, nuts, seeds, and herbs. The recipe comes from Rick Martinez, the Salsa Daddy himself! Rick is a Mexican American chef, author, teacher, New York Times contributor, and the James Beard Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Mi Cocina and Salsa Daddy.

Rick also has a weekly newsletter, Sazón, just for Mexican food lovers who want to learn more about Mexican food and culture as well as how to make better tacos, tamales, salsas, seafood dinners, and have fun doing it. Check out his salsa school series and online cooking school!

I’m looking forward to having Rick on my podcast in the fall! Stay tuned!

Inspired by Mexico

Salsa Borracha, or “drunken salsa,” is smoky, earthy, and made with Mexican beer.

This recipe is from Douglas | Inspired by México and Andrés | Inspired by Mexico and is one I learned to make during one of their live cooking classes. Andrés was born and raised in Mexico, while Douglas lived in various parts of Mexico for over two decades. Their combined experiences led to the Mexican Food Journal blog and Inspired by Mexico newsletter. They also have an entire online series called Mastering Mexican Salsas available to members, and it is excellent!

To hear more about the Inspired by Mexico team, listen to the podcast episode I did with Douglas Cullen or read the interview I did with Andrés Carnalla.

I really loved how salsa borracha tasted with my Vegetarian Crunch Wrap!

Tell Me

Did you have a favorite salsa this month? I hope you learned more about salsas and how to make them.

Coming next week: New month, new series! Look forward to Dinner & Movie nights! Have a great weekend, %%first_name%%, and see you next Friday.

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