World Cuisines: Delicious Salsa (Mexico)

Ingredients:
- 6-8 large Roma tomatoes (Do not put your tomatoes in the fridge after purchase. Let them sit out, in the sun if possible so they'll ripen and become more flavorful.)
- 1 medium onion, diced 
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
some hot pepper, minced (The amount will differ. I try different peppers each time. Make sure you don't start too spicy. You can always increase it later.)
- 1/2-1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- ground pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil juice of one lemon or lime, optional

Preparation:
- Add ½ inch of water to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Core and halve tomatoes and set them, cut side up, in the skillet. 
- Simmer tomatoes until water evaporates and tomatoes start to soften. 
- In the meantime dice the onions.
- Once the tomatoes are ready, peel and discard the skin. Caution, they're hot!
- Put tomatoes, hot pepper and cilantro into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic in hot oil for about 15 seconds; just a flash in the pan.
- Add blended tomato mixture to the skillet with the onions and garlic and stir it.
- Season with salt and ground pepper to taste. 
- Simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes, or until salsa has reduced and thickened. You may need to increase cook time if tomatoes are very juicy.
- If you are using citrus, stir it in at the end.


Makes 3 cups or about 6 servings