I planted not one, but two cilantro plants in my garden. Fresh cilantro thrills me. Hence today's recipe.
Like anything else one makes at home, this salsa is delicious and, what's better, simple. I tend to find that canned salsa tastes pretty uniform. All the individual components which presumably started out tasting very different (corn, onions tomatoes, etc) usually taste exactly the same. In this recipe, you can taste all the separate elements: roasted tomatoes, a hit of cilantro and peppers, the undertones of garlic, and just a touch of onion.
This recipe, I feel, is different from some of the others out there because the tomatoes, the main component of a basic salsa, are roasted. This concentrates the flavor and, more importantly, evaporates excess moisture. I am not a fan of soupy salsa. That would be called gazpacho, which to date I have found rather meh.
Also, about those sad, slightly pale jalapenos you see in the top picture: they aren't fresh. I know. It's egregious. See, they emerged a bit, um, dull from their stint in the freezer, but I'm not a huge hot and spicy kinda gal anyway, so I thought their muted kick worked great. Work with what you have, people. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that.
The only thing I really insist must be fresh for this recipe is the cilantro. Because really, is there anything more wonderful that fresh cilantro? The dried stuff is, sadly, not going to cut it here.
One last note: I feel like I could add the ubiquitous phrase "more to taste" after every ingredient listed. Taste as you go, and add things as you feel so led.
Helpful Tips:
When it came time to make the salsa, there was no lime to found in the fridge. My salsa was fine without it, but to really make it sing, add the juice of half a lime.
This is a simple recipe. Use high quality ingredients and for the love of all that is good, please season liberally with salt. Your taste buds will thank you.
As I mentioned above, feel free to substitute canned or frozen for every ingredient mentioned. We've all fallen victim to the "I-must-have-homemade-soup/cookies/salsa-but-don't-want-to-go-to-the-store" complex. Some of us fall prey to it on a daily basis. While fresh is best, feel free to substitute with what you have.
In the picture above, I used chopped wild garlic (similar to chives) in place of the onion. See the comment above for the complex responsible.
I really have issues with raw garlic, so I tossed mine in with the tomatoes. A quick roast mellowed out their aggressive taste. If you have a problem with raw onions, I would roast those, too.
Roasting the tomatoes, as previously mentioned, is helpful because it eradicates excess moisture. This is particularly helpful when the tomatoes are being used in a salsa. Keep in mind that the later addition of salt will make your tomatoes "sweat" more, so when roasting them, err on the drier side. You want the cut sides of the tomatoes to look dry, but not shriveled. Shriveled is gross.
Roasted Tomato Salsa
5 of the reddest, ripest tomatoes you can get your hands on
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion or shallot or chives
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 chopped jalapenos
juice of half a lime
sea salt
Preheat oven to 350. Slice tomatoes a quarter of an inch thick, place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle garlic over top of some of the tomatoes, then roast tomatoes for 20 minutes or until they start to look slightly dehydrated, but still wet.
Roughly chop tomatoes, add the rest of the ingredients, season liberally with salt and devour with chips while watching Mad Men. You're welcome.
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