The Best Salsa Ever

If you would also like to see last year's post regarding how to roast and freeze tomatoes, click here or check the archive at left for August, 2011.

OK, I know I'm sticking my neck out a little to claim this is the best salsa ever, but let me tell you why.  Some of you have heard me talk about our community garden adventure and the fact that we grew 28 different varieties of tomatoes.  What I haven't mentioned is that we grew two plants for each variety in the event that one was broken in the wind or otherwise croaked.  So we had 56 tomato plants.  What started as a bunch of cute little plants in spring turned into a veritable tomato tsunami in late summer that washed from the garden into our kitchen.  In addition to roasting tomatoes, eating tomatoes and giving tomatoes away, we tried probably 5 or 6 different salsa recipes over the years.  Most of them involved canning, which has the advantage of making lots of salsa at a time but it also involves specialized equipment and mass quantities of boiling water and steam at the hottest time of the year.

We chose our favorite recipe for a typical salsa and made it several years in a row.  But then I discovered this recipe, which I think came from celebrity chef Rick Bayless.  The flavor is entirely different from a typical salsa because all the ingredients are roasted until charred and then pureed, which gives it a smoky depth of flavor.  It's not watery like some homemade salsas, and it's not too thick like some of the popular store brands - it's just right.  (Sorry for the Goldilocks moment.)  An added bonus for the cilantro-haters out there is that it doesn't have any.  For the cilantro-lovers (like me), just put some cilantro in whatever you're serving with the salsa (like the quesadillas we're having tonight).  I would call the heat factor relatively mild, especially when served with chips or food.  Sampled by itself it will taste somewhat spicy but this is by no means a hot salsa.  It's meant to be smoky and warm, not hot.

The flavor is delicious and there's no canning involved - you just put the salsa into clean containers and freeze it.  It only takes about 30 minutes to make, and it's made in manageable quantities.  Here's all you need to make one batch, which makes about two cups of salsa.

 If you decide you really like it and want to make larger quantities, my suggestion is to make several batches rather than one big batch because if you crowd the broiler pan too much the vegetables will steam instead of charring properly, which is what gives them the smoky flavor.  (Not to mention that if you put more than one batch in the blender at a time you risk a salsa explosion all over your kitchen.)

 We make this every year now.  If you've never made salsa or even if you already have a favorite recipe, try this one and see what you think.  The ingredients are readily available at the farmers market or at the store and it's so easy to make it's almost foolproof.  Just be sure to tuck the garlic under the other ingredients before broiling so the garlic doesn't blacken along with everything else and turn bitter.  When it's hidden under something it steams and roasts and becomes mellow and sweet instead.

Not everything will char at the same rate.  At this point the jalapenos and garlic were ready to take out but the onion and tomatoes needed more time.

After a few more minutes under the broiler the onion and tomatoes were ready.

At some point during this process you will probably become deeply skeptical that it's going to work.  You'll look at that blackened mess and think there's no way it will ever turn into anything edible.

 Oh, ye of little faith.  Just add some water and turn on the blender.  You end up with a beautiful salsa with cool little charred specks.  It's magic.  And delicious!

* * click here for a printable recipe * *

Roasted Tomato Salsa
Yield: 2 cups

5 Roma (plum) tomatoes

8 garlic cloves, peeled

2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed and seeded

½ medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half (2 quarters)

½ cup water

½ - 1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler with a rack at the highest position possible without having the food touch the heating elements. Place the tomatoes, garlic, chiles and onion on a baking tray lined with foil. Tuck garlic under other vegetables to avoid blackening (they’re easiest to tuck under the jalapeno halves). Broil, turning frequently until well charred, about 15-20 minutes. You may need to take some of the vegetables out earlier than others for all to achieve the right amount of charring. Set aside to cool.

Core the tomatoes. With a rubber spatula, scrape the roasted ingredients and their juices (including the blackened skins) into a food processor or blender and puree with the water until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Keep refrigerated or may be frozen.

Roasted Stuffed Squash

Wow, is it fall already?  Time always seems to proceed normally until around July 4th.  Next thing you know, it's September.  I'm not sure how that works, but it does.  So, it's time to start mentally switching gears to fall-ish foods, which always means squash to me.  I love squash.  As a kid I hated squash on principle because it's a vegetable.  Plus, every squash recipe back then included brown sugar and mini marshmallows.  Blehhh.  At the risk of being called anti-American, I must confess I don't have much of a sweet tooth and don't like sweet stuff on vegetables.  But savory squash recipes are a whole different thing.  Even The Lawyer, a professed squash hater, has confessed to liking this recipe.  A convert!  The secret is to make sure you don't undercook the squash.  That's right, don't undercook.  Squash has to be very tender.  Baked with butter, salt and pepper, it's a great side dish.  If you then stuff it, it's a even greater complete meal.  Use any small squash that you prefer - the most common is acorn, but buttercup is also wonderful or any of the new, cute red varieties in the store.  This recipe is very flexible - use a different meat choice, no meat at all, different mushrooms, different nuts, etc. I've tried both hot Italian sausage and chorizo with great results.  Pepitas are toasted pumpkin seeds and a favorite of mine, but use whatever you like.  Finally, this recipe does take a while to prepare but the good news is that it's kind of like lasagna - you can do all the prep and assembly in advance and just bake it at the last minute which makes it a legitimate contender for a weeknight meal.  But, it's impressive enough for guests - just add a crusty french bread and a dessert, and you're all set.

**click here for a printable version**
 Roasted Stuffed Squash

4 servings

2 small squash - acorn, buttercup, etc.

1 cup uncooked rice pilaf or wild rice

Cut, cleaned and ready for baking

4 oz sliced button mushrooms (or wild mushrooms)

3 tablespoons margarine, divided

1 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup shredded parmesan (plus additional 1/4 cup for garnish)

8 oz crumbled cooked hot Italian sausage (or chorizo or any leftover chopped meat)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup pepitas, toasted (or other toasted nuts)

After baking for 60 minutes, ready to stuff

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut a thin slice off each end of the squash, then cut in half crosswise.  Carefully scoop out seeds and fibers. Line a baking dish with parchment.  Place squash halves in the baking dish and rub the cut surfaces and the interior of each with 1 tablespoon margarine. Place a small amount of margarine in the bottom of each half.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast at 400d for 60 minutes.

While the squash is roasting cook the rice according to directions, then drain and set aside to cool.  Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of margarine, then saute the sliced mushrooms until the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden.  In a large bowl, combine the rice and mushrooms with the remaining ingredients except the garnish.  At the end of 60 minutes, remove the squash halves from the oven and fill each until mounded.  If you have rice mix left over, it makes a great lunch the next day.  (At this point the squash halves can be refrigerated for baking later.  If refrigerated, add 10 minutes or so to the baking time.)  Place the squash halves back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes, until the filling is hot.  Sprinkle with additional parmesan before serving.

You Say Tomato

It's the time of the year when vegetable gardens explode.  I know that because we rented a community garden for three years.  One year in a fit of giddy spring enthusiasm we planted 28 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes.  That's right, twenty-eight different kinds. Needless to say, I've tried virtually every recipe and method of preserving/cooking/canning/freezing tomatoes on the planet.  The following technique for roasting tomatoes is far and away my favorite for a variety of reasons - it's easy, it doesn't require specialized equipment, the tomatoes don't take much room in the freezer, and they have a delicious, concentrated flavor.  The texture is halfway between a sun-dried tomato (which can be dry and chewy), and a canned tomato (too watery for some recipes).  Roasted tomatoes are ideal for egg dishes, tarts, quiches, pizzas, and stirring into other dishes such as cooked lentils served alongside a nice grilled salmon.  Close your eyes and picture them tossed in a green salad!  They would also work perfectly for spaghetti sauce, lasagna, and any other dish calling for diced or crushed canned tomatoes. 

Assuming for the moment that you don't have 28 different varieties of tomatoes to contend with, why would you want to buy and roast your own?  First, you can't buy tomatoes with this particular texture and flavor from a store.  Second, you're in control of the salt and other flavors.  Third, they'll remind you of summer when you break them out of the freezer in January and will make you smile.  And fourth, they're pretty darn spectacular when showcased in a tart, pizza, or salad. All you need is a baking pan (or two) with a rim, lined in foil to prevent the juices from running all over your oven.  I typically use the bottom part of the broiler pans that always seem to come with ovens.  When you're done, all you have to clean is a knife and a spatula.

So if you have the opportunity to buy some tomatoes at your local market in the next few weeks and a few hours of time when you'll be hanging around the house, I encourage you to give it a try.  It's fun!

printable recipe
Roasted Tomatoes
Tomatoes - beefsteak or roma (just not cherry tomatoes)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Optional:  slivered garlic, fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 350d. Line a rimmed baking pan with foil and brush with olive oil.  Core the tomatoes and cut in half.  For romas, cut through the stem end.  For beefsteak tomatoes, cut through the horizontal middle (not the stem).  Poke the seeds out with your fingers and put the tomatoes cut side up on the baking sheet.   Rule of thumb - I was able to fit 12 romas (24 cut halves) per broiler pan.  Beefsteak tomatoes would probably fit 8-10 per pan depending on size.  Brush the tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with garlic and herbs if you wish. Put the pan in the center of the oven.  If you have two pans, put them in the top and bottom thirds and rotate after half the time.  Roast romas for 2 hours, and beefsteak tomatoes for approximately 3 hours, until shrunken and dark.  Cool and pack in a container with any juice or olive oil that remained in the pan.  If you want roasted tomato olive oil for bread dipping or salad dressing, pour additional olive oil over the tomatoes.  Freeze.



48 roma tomato halves in one small container