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Salsa – Condiment used in Mexican cuisine
Salsa verde (lit. 'green sauce') is a type of spicy, green sauce in Mexican cuisine based on tomatillo and green chili peppers.
The tomatillo-based Mexican salsa verde dates to the Aztec Empire, as documented by the Spanish physician Francisco Hernández, and is distinct from the various medieval European parsley-based green sauces.[1]
In the cuisines of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, it is often served with Mexican or Tex-Mex style dishes like enchiladas and chicharrón (pork rinds). The version typical of New Mexico consists mostly of green chile rather than tomatillos.
Salsa encompasses a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. They may be raw or cooked, and are generally served at room temperature.[1]
Though the word salsa means any kind of sauce in Spanish, in English, it refers specifically to these Mexican table sauces, especially to the chunky tomato-and-chili-based pico de gallo, as well as to salsa verde.[2][3]
Tortilla chips with salsa are a ubiquitous appetizer in Mexican-American restaurants, but not in Mexico itself.