fire roasted salsa

What would life be like without salsa? I don't know and I don't care to imagine it that way. I'm a salsa lover through and through. I could eat it straight with spoon, I love it so much. I know that you can buy a big 'ol jar of generic red salsa for a buck fifty at the grocery store but sometimes you want a little more. This salsa will no doubt leave you wanting more... and more... and more.

I think I can get away with calling this "fire roasted" since I use a gas oven, right? Besides, "oven roased salsa" just doesn't have the same ring to it. You can make this salsa with a gas or electric stove, so worry not - no real flames required.

Make sure you wait until tomatoes are at their peak and selling for a good price before making this recipe. If you get tomatoes out of season, the cost can quickly add up. I was lucky enough to find roma tomatoes on sale for $0.99/lb.





Total Recipe cost: $3.85
Servings Per Recipe: 6 (1/2 cup each)
Cost per serving: $0.64
Prep time: 20 min. Cook time: 30 min. Total: 50 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
8-10	fresh roma tomatoes	$1.68
1 medium	poblano pepper	$0.49
1 medium	jalapeno pepper	$0.17
6 cloves	garlic	$0.18
1 medium	yellow onion	$0.36
2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.20
1 medium	lime	$0.18
1/2 bunch	cilantro	$0.44
1 tsp	salt	$0.05
1/2 tsp	cumin	$0.05
1/2 tsp	sugar	$0.05
TOTAL		$3.85

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Rinse the tomatoes and peppers. Cut the tomatoes in half, peel the cloves of garlic and slice the onion into chunks. Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, poblano and jalapeno (leave the peppers whole for now) on the baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Toss all of the vegetables around in the oil until they are well coated.

STEP 2: Place the vegetables in the 450 degree oven and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once half way through. The vegetables should be shriveled, blistered and slightly brown after 30 minutes (see photos below). After roasting, remove them from the oven and allow to cool.

STEP 3: Place the poblano and jalapeno peppers on a cutting board. Remove the skin from the poblano (it should peel away easily), remove the tops and seed pods from both peppers. The peppers should be very soft and easy to work with (see photos below).

STEP 4: Dump all of the contents of the foil covered baking sheet (including juices) into a blender along with the peppers. If the vegetables are still warm, you can place the blender into the refrigerator until they have cooled down.

STEP 5: Add the fresh cilantro leaves and juice from the lime to the blender. You can start with half of each and add more to taste, if desired. Also add the salt, sugar and cumin. With the blender on the lowest setting, blend the ingredients until they are well mixed but still slightly chunky. Don't over puree on the first round so that you can taste the mixture, adjust the seasonings and blend again if needed.

STEP 6: Serve immediately or let refrigerate over night for a more mellow flavor.

Step By Step Photos

Prep the vegetables and coat them in oil.


Roast the vegetables in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring once half way through.


The vegetables should be very soft, blistered and brown around the edges when done.


Peel the thick skin off of the poblano (that's the skin on the top left) and remove the stems and seeds from both. Jalapenos have a thinner skin so it doesn't need to be removed.


Dump everything from the baking sheet, including the juices, into the blender and let cool. I put mine in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process. Notice how much liquid is in the blender (about half full). That is a good thing. After the veggies have cooled, add the fresh cilantro, lime juice, salt, cumin and sugar. Blend on the lowest setting.


Taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings to you liking. Be careful not to over blend, you don't want a soup!



NOTE: Both jalapenos and poblanos are spicy so if you fear the flame, add just half to the blender at first. This salsa was quite potent and had a sharp bite just after making it but today (the day after) it is mellow and so insanely delicious that I ate half a batch for lunch. I just couldn't stop...