Roasted Tomato Salsa

This is a quick way to make homemade salsa. Simply place all the vegetables under the broiler until they are nicely browned and then puree with an emulsion blender. There you have it - homemade salsa.

Ingredients

2  pounds tomatoes
6 cloves unpeeled garlic
1 large white onion, peeled, halved and cut into 1/2" slices
4 jalapeno peppers, stem removed, cut in half
1 green pepper, stems and seeds removed, quartered
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

Instructions

Turn broiler to high. Place oven shelf about 6 -8 inches below broiler.
Line a large baking sheet (with sides) with aluminum foil. Place all the prepared vegetables on the foil, skin side up.
Broil for 6 - 8 minutes or until the tomatoes are nicely blackened on top. Remove
from oven. Allow to cool slightly.  Discard the skins from the garlic cloves.
Transfer all to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Add salt, cumin and lime juice.
Serve immediately or refrigerate in sealed container for up to three days.

Roast Pepper and Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

1 poblano pepper, seeded and quartered
3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
10 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1/2 large onion, cut into chunks
2 - 3 jalapeno peppers, halved
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 medium tomatoes
3 green onions, green part only, sliced thin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Juice of one lime
Zest on one lime

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cover two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil.
On one baking sheet, place quartered poblano peppers, garlic cloves, onion, and jalapenos.
On the other baking sheet, place corn and tomatoes.
Drizzle both with olive oil and toss to coat.
Roast for about 35 minutes or until tomatoes have shriveled and softened and peppers are browned.

Place poblano pepper, garlic, onion and jalapeno in bowl. Pulse with emersion blender. Add roasted tomatoes and corn.
Chop three medium tomatoes and add to mixture. Add sliced green onion tops. Stir to combine,
Add spices, lime juice and lime zest.
Serve with tortilla chips. Best served at room temperature.


This recipe was adapted from Relish.com.

Salsa Bar Trio

At a recent party at my house, I served a salsa bar as our appetizer. I made three homemade salsas - a traditional pico de gallo, a watermelon salsa and a kiwi avocado salsa. I served these with a big bowl of scoop chips. They were colorful, fresh and delicious.

Traditional Pico De Gallo

Ingredients

1 medium white onion, diced
8 Roma tomatoes, diced
A handful of cilantro (I omit this because I don't like cilantro)
2 - 4 jalapenos - depending on how spicy you want, seeded and minced
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Toss together.


Watermelon Salsa (This made a very large batch)

Ingredients

1/2 seedless small watermelon
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1  red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
2 - 4 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you want), seeded and finely minced
Juice of 2 - 3 limes
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Remove all the rind from the watermelon. Cut into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices. Dice the sliced watermelon and add to bowl.
Add diced red onion, peppers and jalapenos.
Add lime juice and salt.
Toss lightly.
Taste and adjust with additional ingredients to your preference.


Kiwi Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

6 kiwi, peeled and chopped
1/2 avocado, peeled and diced
1 heaping Tablespoon sliced green onions
1 Tablespoon chopped pickled jalapenos
1 teaspoon olive oil.

Instructions

Combine chopped kiwi, avocado and green onions in bowl
Add pickled jalapenos,  Toss with olive oil.

The recipes for Pico De Gallo and the Watermelon Salsa were adapted from "The Pioneer Woman Cooks - A Year of Holidays"

Kiwi Salsa

Ingredients

4 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped
1/2 avocado, peeled and chopped
1 heaping Tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh or pickled jalapenos
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions

Add all ingredients to medium-sized bowl. Mix gently.
Add additional jalapenos to achieve desired level of heat.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with tortilla or corn chips.

Freezer Salsa

In the late summer season, we make many batches of this with fresh tomatoes from the garden. Then, we freeze it and enjoy it all winter long.

Ingredients

Enough tomatoes to yield 10 cups of peeled and diced fresh tomatoes
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 minced cloves of garlic
2 (5.5 ounce) cans tomato paste
8 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
2 green peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons sugar
 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Boil water in saucepan.
Put tomatoes in boiling water for two minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
This will make the skins very easy to peel.
Peel and coarsely chop tomatoes to measure 10 cups.
If desired, you can also remove the seeds. Some people don't like the seeds in salsa; others say much of the flavor of the tomatoes comes from the gel-like substance around the seeds and removing the seeds will reduce the fresh tomato taste.  I say it is a matter of  personal preference and you can remove the seeds or not.

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until onions have softened - about 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and all remaining ingredients.
Bring to boil and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Cool to room temperature. Spoon into freezer containers and store in freezer.