Mexican Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce was an ancient condiment in Aztec food. The first person to write of what may have been a tomato sauce was Bernardino de Sahagún who made note of a prepared sauce that was offered for sale in the markets of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City today). Then, Spaniards brought the use of tomato to Europe.

Basic Mexican tomato sauces are tomato sauce (salsa de tomate rojo o jitomate) and green tomato sauce (salsa de tomate verde). The tomato sauce is stock for spicy sauces and moles.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 0 minutes
Yield: 2 cups (480 ml)

Ingredients
½ lb tomato concassėe
½ cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon red and green chili, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
½  lime juiced
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation steps:

Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve with Mexican dishes and for garnishing soups. The sauce can be left as it is or blended.