Jun

4

The Perfect Tomato Salsa

June 4, 2008 |

“Salsa has now passed ketchup as America’s favorite condiment. Isn’t that amazing? You know it’s bad when even our vegetables are starting to lose their jobs to Mexico.”

Jay Leno, on the Tonight Show

Dang right, dude. Eating something healthy and freshly made when we can squirt over-salted glop with food colouring out of a plastic bottle is such an insurrectionist idea !!!

We’ve encountered truly exceptional tomato salsas, and have tried and tried to make one ourselves.

Once J managed to pry out half a recipe from the canteen chef at his old workplace. The guy said he used both cooked and uncooked tomatoes in his dish. But that still didn’t explain the great smoky undertones.

One of the salsas we ate in a in a restaurant had distinct ancho chilli notes. (Anchos are dried poblano peppers). Was that the secret? We tried Alton Brown’s recipe with ancho chillies. It was okay, not sensational.

Then we found this recipe with rave reviews at Epicurious. It comes from Salsas That Cook by Rick Bayless. We’ve tried two recipes of his before - Arroz Rojo and Mole Poblano - with excellent results.

Bayless says:

This is our salsa closest to the classic home-style Mexican salsa de molcajete that’s made from roasted garlic and chiles pounded in a lava-rock mortar (molcajete) with roasted tomatoes. Even though we’ve updated the equipment for the modern American kitchen, that perfect blend of sweetness (roasted garlic and tomatoes) and raciness (roasted jalapeños) is what you’ll spoon out. The final addition of fresh cilantro and a drizzle of vinegar focuses the whole experience: This is just what most Americans wish they were getting when they open a jar with that ubiquitous “salsa” label. Made with plum tomatoes, your salsa will have a more homogenous texture — just right for using the salsa as an ingredient in other dishes. Because round tomatoes give a looser texture, choose them when you want a condiment to set on the table.

He lives up to his word. This is one kickass salsa, and the best we’ve made so far. The roasted jalapenos are the star of this dish.

Try it. You will not be disappointed. We made a double batch and it was over in a week. It even makes excellent tomato rice.

ROASTED JALAPENO-TOMATO SALSA WITH FRESH CILANTRO

We made one change to the recipe based on the reviews at Epicurious. We replaced the cider vinegar with lime juice.

(Makes about 3 cups)

Broil
2 pounds tomatoes (preferably plum, Roma or on the vine)
2 to 3 jalapeno peppers

on HIGH. Depending on the type of tomato you’re using it will take 6 to 10 minutes on each side. When they get charred spots on one side, turn them over and broil for 6-10 minutes on the other side. They should roast well and be cooked through. Set them aside to cool.

Reduce the oven to 425 F and put
3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) onion chopped into chunks (preferably white)
** we used shallots

and
5 whole peeled garlic cloves

on a piece of foil. Cook them for 12-15 minutes until soft and just starting to char at the edges. Don’t turn them too brown, or they will turn bitter.

Do this when you are roasting pepper or baking bread, if you don’t want to heat up a whole oven for this. Or reduce the broiler to LOW and broil the onions and garlic. Or use a toaster oven or a cast-iron pan on the stovetop.

If you want this to be rustic, don’t remove the skins from the tomatoes and jalapenos, unless there are bits that are totally charred.

We added 3 jalapenos, and didn’t seed them. BIG MISTAKE. It was hot, hot, hot. We ended up adding more tomatoes.

SEED. THE. JALAPENOS. AND REMOVE THE PITH. At least the first time you make this. They get a concentrated flavour upon roasting and become much hotter than they were.

The good news: after two days, the salsa had mellowed down considerably.

Blend the jalapenos with onions and garlic to smooth. If you need liquid while blending, add
2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice.

Then take the paste out and roughly chop the tomatoes, skin and all and add it to the mix with lime juice (if you didn’t add it earlier) and salt.

Add
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour for the flavours to blend.

Serve as a dip, spread or chutney. Tastes great the first day, better the second day, and even better the third day.

The Perfect Tomato Salsa with Roasted Jalapenos goes to dear Maninas at Maninas: Food Matters for Weekend Herb Blogging.

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39 Comments so far

  1. Sailaja on June 4, 2008 9:57 pm

    I did the same kind of smoky salsa for our picnic. It really tastes yummy.
    Your pics looks really great.

  2. Shankari on June 4, 2008 10:09 pm

    Yum. I will have to make a batch of this for sure, one would be with seeds on and the other without.

  3. Rashmi on June 4, 2008 10:47 pm

    Lunch time here and I could so eat this with your gorgeous challah now !

  4. Suganya on June 4, 2008 10:53 pm

    Oh, I love the charred skins in the salsa. Tomatillos for tomatoes, poblano for jalapenos, you got salsa verde. Salsa, chutney, choka, however we call it, they make such versatile condiments.

  5. Madhavi on June 4, 2008 11:21 pm

    Lovely salsa recipe, awesome pics as well. I am sure the taste of this salsa is great and smoky flavor too.

    http://vegetarianmedley.blogspot.com/

  6. Deeba on June 5, 2008 1:57 am

    This salsa is singing to me…the pictures are enticing & stunning! The flavours must have been outstanding. Thanks too for all the attention to detail…this is truly a yummy post!

  7. Shibani on June 5, 2008 3:03 am

    awesome recipe and with amazing pictures.Really loved the way you have decribed it.

  8. Happy Cook on June 5, 2008 5:42 am

    I just wanted to scoope it with my hand and eat them.

  9. Asha on June 5, 2008 5:50 am

    Smokey aroma comes from roasted and powdered Spanish/Mexican Cumin seeds, which have different taste and looks longer, thinner than Indian cumin seeds. Available in specially food stores, a must for Salsa. Roasted tomato and Jalapeños looks yummy there. Love Salsa! :)

    Jai, is Bee back from Martian land? EVERYBODY is worried at FH looking at “her” THREE comments in one post there this week in a Martian language! We are all ready to help release her from “their” grip!!:D

    Is that what you call Martian tongue? I call it Malayalam. :D - Jai

  10. sagari on June 5, 2008 6:22 am

    Never tried roasted tomato salsa LOOKS YUMMMMMM

  11. shilpa on June 5, 2008 6:46 am

    Ohh lovely..this is what I was looking for.

  12. Kalyn on June 5, 2008 7:43 am

    This does sound just wonderful. I would probably have to leave out the seeds, as I’m a bit of a wimp on heat!

    BTW, My brother used to work out at the same gym as Rick Bayless in Chicago, and always reported how nice he was. I always think about that when someone raves about one of his recipes.

  13. Maryann on June 5, 2008 7:48 am

    Hey! I’ve been working on a salsa too!
    Love that first photo, guys. The texture is amazing :)

  14. Cham on June 5, 2008 9:10 am

    The first one is just amazing, love the recipe for multiple use: salsa, or chutney or even tomato rice, we can recreate 3 differents meal, that is the way to cook !

  15. Latha on June 5, 2008 9:20 am

    its lunch time and that looks way too groovy! yumm, i am hungry now

  16. Madhu on June 5, 2008 10:09 am

    That looks perfect indeed ! Like the roasted flavour of tomatoes and peppers, can’t wait to try it.

  17. Mansi on June 5, 2008 11:06 am

    I think I still have more affection for ketchup, but indian ketchup!:) but your salsa looks really tempting bee!:)

  18. vanamala on June 5, 2008 11:36 am

    Looks super bee:) hot & spicy salsa so tempting to try.

  19. musical on June 5, 2008 11:57 am

    Just how i love it! THANK YOU :)

  20. Pooja on June 5, 2008 2:05 pm

    This is really a perfect Salsa recipe . thanks for sharing with us. The ideas of roasting it before mixing is really nice.
    I am just back from vacation and checking your blog made me feel like as if i didn’t visited you since a year. so many thing has happened since then. I would love to contribute some prize for raffle , if its not too late. otherwise i can always add my penny to help bri. and ohh… I have an idea for that captioning picture too . Going to leave my idea there :D.

  21. Uma on June 5, 2008 2:13 pm

    Mouthwatering pictures. What a perfect texture for tomato salsa!

  22. Maninas on June 5, 2008 3:29 pm

    Many thanks for the gorgeous WHB entry! :D

  23. LyB on June 5, 2008 5:41 pm

    I love roasted vegetables, this salsa sounds (and looks) fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe, and your tips. :)

  24. lakshmi on June 5, 2008 7:31 pm

    this is the perfect salsa indeed, made a small quantity yesterday - making a batch this weekend - thanks for the recipe. :)

  25. RedChillies on June 5, 2008 7:43 pm

    Beautiful pictures as always! Loved the salasa. But I have to admit though, I love ketchup anytime. Jay Leno go take a back seat :-)

  26. arundathi on June 5, 2008 10:42 pm

    LOL - Leno is funneeee! thanks - gonna try that with the seeds…

  27. Pelicano on June 5, 2008 11:38 pm

    I would exchange lime juice for vinegar too- I much prefer the citrusy-fruity flavour for souring. Or tamarind: vinegar goes up the nose rather harshly at times.

    The salsa looks fab you two, and oddly-enough I just used up my last batch of homemade for chilaquiles, so I need more.(Ketchup? What’s that?) So anyway I’ll try this out, but the real reason I’m writing is to ask when that shipment of yoghurt-starter will be arriving(?).

    :-D

  28. mallugirl on June 6, 2008 9:04 am

    this is such a coincidence!!!i just made this and was thinking of posting it and i see your wonderful photo of the same salsa.i add a teaspoon of vinegar to it though.:)

  29. Dee on June 6, 2008 9:09 am

    I love the smoky undertones !! I’d love to try replacing the jalapeños with Habanero chili . I have a bunch of them lying in my fridge and just dont know what to do with them!!

  30. mindy jordan on June 6, 2008 12:40 pm

    that salsa looks so deliciosa.

  31. Anonymous on June 7, 2008 6:24 am

    Looks lovely and delish-very close of course to “tomato choka” except you use chili instead of jalapeno and add chopped onion.

  32. Bharti on June 7, 2008 7:40 pm

    oh boy..I’m gonna have to try that one. I’m only worried about getting hooked on to it!

  33. WHB - The Round-up! « Maninas: Food Matters on June 8, 2008 5:48 pm

    […] The perfect tomato salsa with roasted jalapenos ~ Jugalbandi […]

  34. Miri on June 9, 2008 9:04 am

    Wow, that is some authentic salsa, puts my mango salsa which I was drooling about for the past two days, to shame now!

  35. FlaNBoyant Eats on June 10, 2008 12:06 am

    uhm, yeah, i think is up in the ranks of being a great salsa! nice job.

    glad to be back. it had been a while!

  36. Pravs on June 10, 2008 6:28 am

    Love the roasted Jalapeno in the recipe..looks like a rocking salsa. Anytime better than the ketchup :)

  37. Dee on June 11, 2008 9:45 am

    Bee have a question to ask about the picture , what was the background used ?? Its simply stunning , I just cant seem to take it off my mind… the rustic look , somewhat similar in the crazy upma picture too ..it looked like cloth to my eyes.. but the orange looked a little distressed.

    just a sheet of paper.

  38. Tempting! Links to Delish Dishes and Handy Hints. « A Life (Time) of Cooking on September 5, 2008 1:01 pm

    […] is an example, again from Food Junkie. Muhammara, or a Syrian Red Pepper dip. And Jugalbandi turns tomatoes into a chilli salsa. Red peppers again in a delighful dip for Turkish bread. From Binnur’s Turkish […]

  39. Tomato Dip « The ‘yum’ blog on November 8, 2008 9:38 am

    […] by lakshmi This Tomato dip is based on the Salsa recipe at Epicurious which is the same that Jugalbandi had referenced quite sometime back for their salsa. I call it a tomato dip simply because the kind […]

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