My take on salsa quemada for the Ottawa Farmers' Market's second annual Tomato Festival.
The recipe was published in the Ottawa Citizen thereafter.
- Prep Time Minutes
- Cook Time Minutes
- Ready In Time0 Minutes
Ingredients
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6 whole vine ripened Roma tomatoes (approximately 700 g)
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salt and pepper to taste
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olive oil for drizzling (approximately 2 tbsp/batch of tomatoes)
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1 large jalapeño pepper (approximately 20 g)
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2-3 skin on garlic cloves
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1/2 large onion (red or white) [approximately 1 cup diced]
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cilantro to taste (leaves and/or stems) [add 1 tbsp chopped at a time]
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honey or agave nectar (optional)
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Directions
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Preheat an oven to 400F
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Halve and seed the roma tomatoes.
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Carefully arrange the tomatoes in an oven safe non-reactive baking dish in one layer.
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Make sure the cut side is facing up.
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Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt (preferably kosher) and black pepper (preferably freshly ground) to taste.
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Place the dish in the preheated oven and roast the tomatoes for
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approximately 1 hour. You want the tomatoes to cook, dry out a bit, and char.
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Place the garlic cloves in a separate oven safe non-reactive container and roast them alongside the tomatoes for 45 minutes.
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Meanwhile, on a grill or in a cast iron skillet set to medium-high heat, char jalapeño pepper on each side until it is almost completely blackened and blistered.
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Place the charred pepper in a lidded oven safe dish to steam for 5-10 minutes.
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Stem, skin, seed, and finely chop the jalapeño pepper. Set it aside.
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When the tomatoes are finished roasting, process them with a food mill to remove the skins. Alternatively, force the flesh through a sturdy mesh strainer. Set the tomato flesh aside.
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when the garlic is finished roasting and cool enough to be handleable, peel the garlic and set it aside.
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Dice 1/2 large onion.
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In a metal bottomed pan, set to medium heat, add the onion, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
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Gently sweat the onions until translucent. If the onions colour or singe, turn the heat down.
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Remove the onions from the heat and set them aside.
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Prepare a small container of cilantro, finely chopped stems if using, coarsely chopped leaves if using.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the tomato pulp, roasted garlic, charred jalapeño, and the sweated onion.
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Taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Take note that salsa is served chilled, so more seasoning may be necessary.
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Add the cilantro to taste.
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Taste again. Optionally, if the tomatoes used were not particularly sweet, sweeten with honey or agave nectar to taste. If you are enterprising, sweeten with tomato molasses, which we make by reducing tomato juice to a syrup and sweetening with brown sugar.
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Chill the salsa in the fridge overnight.
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Serve chilled.
Notes & Tips
Notes & Tips:
Ratings & Reviews
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Reviewed on Sep 20, 2012 by Andrea.
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