Lean Recipe: Great Roasted Salsa #1

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Carl Barnes sent this recipe in, and he also presents other recipe ideas here. If you need 16-bit computer programming, Cal is your guy. We will relay a message to Carl if you contact us at comments@mindconnection.com. Here's his stuff:

I really like this Salsa, its from the book "Salsas that Cook" by Rick Bayless (ISBN 0-684-85694-8). It has 6 Salsa recipes and about 30-40 more that use the salsas. It's easy to make, cook the stuff in the oven and throw it in the food processor. Click here to order the book: Salsas that Cook

Ingredients

• Plum Tomatoes 1.5 pounds
• Jalapeno Chillies 3 stems removed  (or for mellow 2 Pablanos,
  for hotter 3 Serranos, for volcanic 2-3 orange/red habaneros)
• White Onion 1/2 small, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Garlic 4 cloves, peeled
• Cilantro 1/3 cup, chopped and loosely packed
• Water 1/4 cup
• Salt 1 tsp or more
• Cider Vinegar 1.5 tsp

1. Line a baking sheet with foil and put the tomatoes and peppers on it.
2. Heat the broiler, set the pan 4 inches under it.
3. Heat the Tomatoes and peppers for 6-7 minutes until darly roasted and blacked in spots,
   the skins will split and curl.
4. Turn them all over with tongs and cook 6-7 minutes more.
5. Set aside to cool.
6. Set the oven to 425 DegrF
7. On a similar baking sheet put the onions (split into rings) and garlic.
8. Cook about 15 minutes turning once or twice. The onions should be browned and wilted, char'd in spots. The garlic will be soft and browned.
9. Cool onions to room temp which happens pretty fast.
10. Put onions, garlic and peppers in food processor and finely shop. You will probably have to scrap down a few times. Pour off into a bowl.
11. Put tomatoes and juice from baking sheet into food processor and 1/3 of cilantro. Coarsely puree. Pour into bowl with peppers and onions.
12. Add enough water to give salsa an easily spoonable consistency.
13. Stir in cilantro.
14. Season with salt and vinegar

 

Cooling it down:
This came out pretty hot, so I added another 1.5 pounds of tomatoes and it's still medium hot+. To be sure it's mild I would cut the peppers in half and clean. Then just cook them half the time with the skin side up. Since this would remove some flavor I would add one more Jalapeno. If this was not hot enough then I would try it with one pepper whole.

You could use whole Poblano peppers instead which are generally much milder but flavorful. After cooking these remove the skins, pull the stem and the seed pod and cut them open and rinse out the remaining seeds. The seeds have the heat.

I think I would try this with the juice of a fresh lime in it. I guess I would try it on a small sample first. Another option is to use 1/6 cup cilantro and 1/6 cup fresh chopped thyme. This is noted as working well with the pablanos. For that low fat alternative use the new baked chips, I've found that they taste much better if heated in the oven or microwave first.

Buen apetito! -- Carl Barnes, http://www.carlbarnes.com

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