Roasted Tomato Salsa
Much like sour cream from last week, raw tomatoes are another one of those ingredients that I don’t care to eat on their own, but I’m very appreciative of what they can do as a recipe ingredient.
Salsa is one of those recipes. I don’t mind a verde, but a red salsa will always be my preference, and the flavor of the actual tomato plays a huge part in that.
I’m a huge advocate for roasting things. It concentrates and enhances ingredients’ natural flavor, and that’s especially true for tomatoes. I can’t think of a better (or an easier) way to showcase the flavor of when they’re roasted than in a fresh salsa.
This salsa broils tomatoes, onions, garlic and cilantro until they’re roasted/charred. They’re then blitzed together in a blender and seasoned, minimally.
And that’s literally it. Definitely one for the “You Can’t Mess This Up, No Seriously” category.
I will say that texture is also important here; I can’t stand runny tomato juice salsa. It’s gotta be chunky for me all the way. So I was very intentional in my blending to actually only press the Pulse button a handful of times so as to not have ‘soup’ instead of salsa. But if that’s your preference, feel free to blitz it for as long as you like until it’s as thin as you like.
This salsa made me scold myself for not having made myself some before up until now. It tasted so fresh and bright. The flavors of each of the broiled/roasted ingredients really shined through here, and my only regret about it i that I hadn’t made a double batch.
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Recipe Adapted from Serious Eats
Ingredients
- 10 Roma Tomatoes, halved
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 medium yellow sweet onion, quartered and separated.
- 8 oz fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat stove broiler on High. Line two sheet pans with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.
Arrange tomatoes and garlic cloves on one sheet pan and the other for the onions, cut side up for the tomatoes and onions. Lightly sprinkle the tops of the tomatoes and the onions with salt and pepper.
Broil on the rack of the nearest to the broiler grill. After about 7-10 minutes, check on the garlic cloves; if they are browned and the skins have begun to open, remove them from the oven and their skins, and set aside.
Broil the tomatoes about 5-10 minutes more, until they have begun to char and blister on the tops. Remove from oven, and broil the onions until they’re softened and beginning to char at the tips, 5-7 minutes.
Spread the cilantro out on one of the sheet pans; broil for about 35 seconds to 1 minute; don’t walk away from it. Once cooled, tear the softened cilantro into pieces.
Once the tomatoes and onions are cooled, place them and the garlic into a a blender. Pulse a few times until it forms a chunky paste; I only needed to pulse about 5-6 times to my desired consistency.
Pour the salsa into a bowl, season with the lime juice, cumin, smoked paprika and salt and pepper. Taste & adjust for seasoning, then stir in the wilted cilantro.
Chill in the fridge for about 30-40 minutes before serving.
Sharing at Fiesta Friday #415
I bet the flavor is out of this world!
It tastes SO fresh and bright, Dorothy. Jarred salsa just doesn’t compare š
Sounds great. I have a salsa recipe from my all time favorite meal…..spaghetti with steamed veggies over that (I use carrots and zuccini), homemade salsa over that, and feta topping it all. Next time I make that, I’ll use your recipe for salsa instead of the raw veggies.
Yum! I think you’ll be happy you tried this out with your spaghetti/veggies, it would go great with just about anything. Thanks š
Looks yummy
It really is! Thank you š
Sounds so flavorful and delicious!!
Thank you–it is both of those š