Long before salsa became the top-selling condiment in America, Ticia Murphy of Bay Park was already roasting the chili peppers and tomatillos that permeate her family’s authentic recipes. Yet with an Irish surname, most people wouldn’t suspect her to be a salsa queen at first.

Murphy and her partner, Jenny, always put out homemade salsa when entertaining. And rarely is it missing from the dinner table when they visit Murphy’s family in Chula Vista, where her mother, originally from Mexico, has been swooning her Irish dad with the stuff since before they were married.

“My grandparents on both sides used to hang out together, and my mom at the time would send my father care packages of homemade salsas before they ever met – when he was stationed with the army in Japan. When dad got back to the U.S., they started dating and eventually got married. It’s the salsa that got the ball rolling,” Murphy quips.

Murphy began helping her mother make salsa at the age of 8. As a result, she eschews the popular retail brands. “There’s a place for them, but not at my table,” she says. “Homemade salsa goes with everything. We’ve even used it on corned beef tacos for St. Patrick’s Day.”

Contrary to popular belief, good authentic salsas are made with a base of tomatillos rather than tomatoes. The latter are used mainly to neutralize or sweeten the end result, although Murphy feels that too many tomatoes “make salsas taste bland.”

Tomatillos are a yellowish, edible fruit of Mexican origin harvested from tomato husk plants. Pleasingly tart in flavor, they are now grown widely throughout the western United States and available in major grocery stores. “They are the main ingredient of choice in my family,” adds Murphy.

But it is the roasting process and proper blending of ingredients that remain the secrets for making robust salsas. Murphy advises that home cooks first “open all the windows and have a good strong fan going because the house can fill up with smoke from frying or roasting the chilies.”

Murphy’s favorite chili pepper is one that comes from a tree – the chili de arbol, which is also available at most supermarkets. Habanero chilies are never too far out of the picture either.

In a fry pan, Murphy and her mom first cook the chilies in oil at high heat. “They have to be well done in order to get a good, full flavor,” she insists. After removing the chilies from the pan, they cook the tomatillos in the same oil, until they turn dark and their skins are ready to fall off. Undercooking either ingredient is the biggest mistake people make, she adds. “Yet when the skins begin separating from the fruit, you have to stop immediately because they’ll burn if you go any further.”

Murphy adheres to a layering protocol when adding into the blender her ingredients, which also include fresh garlic and rock salt. The roasted chilies go in first, followed by the garlic, tomatillos and rock salt. She then mixes them quickly in the blender until achieving her desired consistency. In regards to cilantro, “I use it in about 50 percent of my recipes, but if I want the garlic to stand out, I’ll use very little or none at all.”

Among the uncommon ingredients she sometimes uses are mangos and guavas for making chunky, summertime salsas. “Those we eat chilled, but the more traditional salsas are great when served warm which, unlike spaghetti and tomato sauce, every day you chill salsa it loses a little bit more flavor.”

Interestingly, commercial salsas have surpassed sales of ketchup in the U.S. over the past two years, according to a consumer research study conducted by Kansas State University. “Some people still put ketchup on everything, and that’s nasty. With salsa, it isn’t a cheap taste,” adds Murphy.

Below is one of Murphy’s favorite salsa recipes, handed down by her grandmother.

1 ounce of chili de arbol peppers

1 ounce habanero chilies

12-14 (approx. 1 lb.) fresh tomatillos

4-5 cloves fresh garlic

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon course salt

Heat oil in large skillet until hot. Remove stems from chilies and add to skillet. Cook until dark brown, turning often. Remove from pan and set aside. Wash tomatillos and remove leaves. Add them to the same pan and cook until they turn dark and fall apart. Set aside. Then lightly sauté the garlic, cilantro and the salt. Then in a blender, layer the chilies, garlic, tomatillo and salt, and mix briefly until desired consistency. Serve while still warm.