This salsa makes me angry. It makes me angry because I have been paying $4 for little jars of salsa for year and years, and now I find out that making your own big jar of salsa is not only delicious and easy, but it's also dirt cheap! Do you have access to some tomatoes, garlic, onions, and jalapeno peppers? Then you have the making of some great salsa on your hands.
This being me, I am also excited to have more control over the ingredients, and I can keep out nasty villains like corn syrup, excessive sodium, and preservatives, and risky chemicals like BPA or whatever else they use to line cans and jar lids. But that's just me and my ever lasting quest to get more healthy food into my family!
I have only made this one way, but I like to think that this is a good base recipe for making different flavors of sauce. Here are some suggestions for flavors:
Three Pepper: Add 3 cored bell peppers to roasting pan, in red, orange, and yellow
Garlic Chipotle: Replace jalapeno with 1 - 2 canned Chipotle peppers (depending on how spicy you want it) and 1 tsp adobo sauce. Increase garlic to 5-6 cloves
Pineapple: Add 2 thick slices cored fresh pineapple, or 1/2 a cup drained canned pineapple
Spicy Smoky Peach: Add 1 fresh peach, slices in half and pit removed, and replace jalapeno with 1/2 a chipotle pepper + adobo (or more if you like it hot!)
Double Chipotle: Add 1 - 2 canned chipotle peppers + adobo sauce, and 1 teaspoon smoke chipotle chili powder
Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa Recipe
adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011
Ingredients
4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced in half, and seeds removed
2-4 jalapeno peppers, tops cut off, and seeds removed (use your discretion here - if you like your salsa mild, use one pepper with the seeds removed. It you like it really spicy, do 4 peppers with the seeds still in, since that's the spiciest part.
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1 large white onion, peeled and cut in half
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup loosely packed)
lime juice
sea salt
cracked black pepper
additional pepper if desired, such as cayenne or chipotle
1. Turn on oven broiler. A gas stove is best, since you will get that awesome flame kissed flavor, but an electric stove will work too. Place tomatoes and onion cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet, along with garlic and jalapenos. broil 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes and onions are softened and charred (if garlic begins to burn, remove it early). Remove from boiler, and let cool to handle.
2. Roughly chop tomatoes, onion, and jalapenos, and peel garlic. Place in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add chopped cilantro, the juice of 1 lime (about 1.5 tablespoons), sea salt, pepper, and chili (if using), and pulse until incorporated. Taste, and correct seasoning. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container, and refridgerate up to 4 days (or, you could can it and stock your pantry!) enjoy!
