I was going to do another Molly’s Money post today, but I’m sorry, this recipe just HAD to be shared. Especially with the Super Bowl being this weekend and all, I NEEDED to share it.

People from my hometown of Herndon, VA (and surrounding areas) will appreciate this post the most, however, once you make this salsa, you too, will be thankful.

Now, this is NOT (READ: this is NOT) my recipe. I’ve mentioned before that my favorite restaurant in the ENTIRE WORLD, like, the ENTIRE WORLD was called The Tortilla Factory. I grew up going to The Tortilla Factory MULTIPLE times a week. One summer, I ate there something like 65 days in a row. Yeah, I loved it that much. Well, sadly, I found out last year (WHILE we were on our honeymoon) that The Tortilla Factory was closing.

I didn’t even get to eat there one last time. 🙁 I cried. Pathetic, I’m aware.

One of the things they were MOST famous for was their SALSA. To say their salsa is good is an understatement. It just needs to be experienced. They made it in house and the recipe was always SUPER secret.

Well, since the restaurant closed last February, the recipe has gotten out there and I got a hold of it. Now, I don’t want The Tortilla Factory police coming after me, so that’s why this is titled the “Fortilla Tactory” salsa recipe. Hehehe 🙂 jk!

So anyway, I made it this week and my life has been changed forever.

Now, it’s going to take a LITTLE bit of tweaking as the first batch I made is not EXACTLY how the salsa tasted, but it was PRETTY dang close (trust me, I knew that salsa like the back of my hand) BUT, I can tell you what I’d do differently next time.

So, below is the recipe as I received it, and in grey parentheses I have told you what I would do differently to get it SPOT on next time.

But trust me, it is good. You’ll never want to eat another salsa again. Seriously.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 29 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. crushed red pepper – (I used this amount and it has a great amount of spice, BUT you can use more or less depending on how dangerous you feel)
• 2 tsp. Mexican oregano – (You can find Mexican oregano at Harris Teeter or any “nicer” grocery store like Whole Foods or whathaveyou)
• 2 tsp. salt/to taste
• 1 tbsp. ground black pepper
• 1-3 oz. coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use avocado oil)

DIRECTIONS:
In a blender or food processor (I used a blender) blend all the ingredients until you achieve a smooth consistency.

DO NOT try to eat this salsa right away. It is 100,000,000 times better when it sits in the fridge over night. It’s even BETTER on day two. If you try and eat it right away all you are going to taste is vinegar. It also gets a little spicier the longer it sits. Remember to stir and mix the salsa up every time you take it out of the fridge to eat it as the oil and vinegar condense.

Enjoy! Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Now, if I can only figure out the chicken chimichanga and fajita marinade recipes…

What about you? Are you a Tortilla Factory fan? Let me know if you try this recipe and if you make any tweaks to it!