Roasted Jalapeño-Tomato Salsa
02
I’m not a canner (and am really too lazy to both learn how and actually do it) so I knew I needed to come up with some recipes to use with our tomatoes, other than throwing them on top of endless salads and making everything Caprese-esque. I asked Tom if he wanted roasted salsa or fresh salsa, and he chose roasted.
Salsa is one of those things that’s insanely easy to make. It has so few ingredients, takes almost no time, and comes out tasting worlds better than the stuff you buy in the jar. The only bad thing about it is that there is no greater complement to it than tortilla chips, which are perhaps not the best thing to eat. I mean, they ARE, but you know.
This salsa had a nice kick to it, which we really enjoyed. Obviously the heat will depend on the jalapeños, so you may want to taste-test them first to see what their heat level is like before deciding whether to add 2 or 3 to the salsa.
Roasted Jalapeño-Tomato Salsa
Adapted from Rick Bayless
1-1/2 lbs. ripe plum tomatoes
2-3 fresh jalapeño chiles (about 1.5 oz.), stemmed
1/2 small white onion, sliced into 1/4″ pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Juice of one lime (1.5 – 2 tsp.)
cilantro to taste
salt to taste
water as needed
Place the oven rack 4″ from the broiler and heat the broiler on high. Lay the tomatoes and jalapeños on a broiler sheet and broil for about 6 minutes, until darkly roasted. Use tongs to flip them over and roast the other side for an additional 6 minutes or until they are cooked through. Set aside.
Lower the oven temperature to 425º and toss the onion and garlic onto a baking sheet. Roast, stirring every couple of minutes, until the onions are browned and wilted with some char around the edges and the garlic is soft and browned in spots, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly.
Place the jalapenos, onions, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Peel the tomatoes, and then add the tomatoes, along with any accumulated juices from the pan, into the food processor. Pulse to puree the tomatoes, and pour everything into a bowl. Season to taste with salt, cilantro, and lime. If necessary, add water to get a spoonable consistency (I didn’t need any).
Cover and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 5 days.
I never think to make salsa, but when we had a garden growing up my dad would make a pico de gallo type salsa with our produce.
From what I can see with my MIL’s garden, peppers are definitely pretty hit or miss. So unpredictable! But at least you got two! And could make this salsa. I could probably make a dinner out of scoops of this alone.