Never buy pre-made salsa from the grocery store ever again.
No, there's not a scary recall on one of the ingredients or a new study that shows that it will cause you to go blind faster than your non-salsa eating counter part. You should stop buying it because it's so, so simple to make! We'll talk about how much better it tastes in just a bit...
The recipe came from the Everyday Food June 2011 magazine, although I made some changes of my own.
Classic Roasted Salsa
Start with 2 large tomatoes, 1 medium white onion, 1 jalapeno, and 4 cloves of garlic with skins on.
Preheat the broiler, with rack in top position.
Halve the onion, remove seeds and ribs from the jalapeno and halve it (if you're brave you can leave them). Place all of the ingredients in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Boil until vegetables are blistered and slightly softened, rotating and flipping them frequently, 6 to 8 minutes. I have a major paranoia about using the broiler and compulsively checked on and flipped the veggies every 30 seconds or so!
That's it, you're done cooking! Look how nice the veggies look, post broil.
I love the charred jalapeno, especially.
The skins on the tomato split!
Now, let's finish up this salsa recipe.
Discard garlic skins. In a food processor, pulse garlic and veggies until coarsely pureed. My food processor is brand new and this was my first time using it, causing me to get a little pulse happy. My salsa was very, very well pureed - oops! Add 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and season with salt and ground pepper. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro.
Homemade Chips
Years ago I actually had a recipe for homemade tortilla chips, now I just wing it. Using a basting brush, apply EVOO to both sides of medium flour tortillas. Stack them in a pile and slice them into wedges using a pizza cutter. Arrange on a baking sheet, add salt, and bake in the oven until just lightly golden brown.
The chips before.
Finally, the grand finale - homemade chips and salsa!
The flavor of this salsa was outstanding! The vegetables gave it such a fresh and delicious taste. Since I don't like it hot, one jalapeno was just enough to give it the right flavor. Overall, fresh salsa trumps store bought salsa for sure!
The homemade chips were light and salty without being greasy. These will certainly be made frequently throughout the summer months.
During my next trip to Home Depot I'll get my own cilantro plant and see if I can keep it alive long enough to make this salsa again!
Question - did it ever get "too onion-y"? Every time we make pico de gallo, I use less onion than before but it always tastes too onion-y! I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if being pregnant just makes it worse. I tend to use yellow onions...perhaps a different type of onion?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I completely agree, homemade salsa (and pico) is far superior to store bought stuff. With that avocado tree outside, I expect homemade guacomole next! (which is also easy and yummy!)
~Brooke~
I love onions and have never felt it to be too onion-y! I don't think your baby likes onions, which is to be expected for the first 10 - 15 years of his or her life. We've made homemade guacamole but have eaten it too fast to photograph! Fail. We'll try again :)
ReplyDeleteYUMMMMMMMMMMMM HOME MADE SALSAAAA AAYEEE....my favorite! I'm trying this recipe fo sho.
ReplyDeletePlease do! Let me know how it goes. Miss you and our dinner dates. Too bad I wasn't blogging then.
ReplyDelete