Fire Roasted Salsa
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
15 mins
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Servings
16 servings
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Calories
13 kcal
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Course
Condiments
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Cuisine
Mexican
Fire Roasted Salsa
Description
The Fire Roasted Salsa recipe relies on roasting plum tomatoes, white onions, garlic cloves, and serrano or jalapeño chiles until their skins are deeply charred. This charring imparts a smoky bitterness that enhances the natural sweetness of the vegetables and the heat of the chilies. After roasting, the chiles are steamed to loosen their skins before peeling, and all ingredients are roughly chopped and combined with salt, Mexican oregano, cilantro, and pipicha for herbal brightness. Garlic is peeled after roasting lightly blackened and chopped if large.
This preparation yields a salsa with a balance of smoky, spicy, and herbaceous flavors that complements grilled foods, tacos, or can be served simply with chips. The texture incorporates softened tomatoes and onions with bits of charred skin, giving a rustic feel. Adjusting the number of chiles modifies the heat level to preference.
The recipe notes suggest alternative small hot peppers like chiltepin or pequin can be ground with salt and garlic for variation. Using a hot grill or broiler and allowing significant blackening are key to achieving the authentic flavor profile. Serving the salsa fresh preserves its lively character.
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 plum tomato cut in half
- 1 or 2 white onion cut in quarters
- 3 or 4 garlic unpeeled, cloves
- 1 to 4 serrano chile See note below, or jalapeno chile
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano (optional)
- 3 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 3 tablespoons pipicha chopped
Instructions
- If you are grilling, get your grates hot and scrape them clean. Place your onions and tomatoes cut side down on the grill. Place the chiles and garlic cloves on the grill, too. If you are broiling, arrange everything on a baking sheet, cut side up.
- Let the onions and tomatoes grill a solid 5 minutes before trying to move them. You want significant blackening. Turn the garlic cloves as the peel blackens, and rotate the chiles so their skins blacken. Remove the garlic when several sides of the cloves have some char, when the skins of the chiles are well blackened, when both cut sides of the onion quarters are charred, and when the cut face of the tomatoes are well blackened. You will want to use a thin metal spatula to do this. If you are broiling, simply wait until you get good char on most of the vegetables.
- Put the chiles into a plastic bag to steam. Chop the onion roughly. Peel the garlic and if the cloves are large, chop into a few pieces. Remove the skins from the tomatoes. After 10 minutes or so, peel the chiles with the back of a butter knife, then open them up and scrape away their seeds. Chop them roughly.
- If you are grinding your salsa in a molcajete, add the salt, oregano and garlic and pound to a paste. Add the onion bit by bit, grinding and pounding all the way. Next comes the chiles, then the tomatoes. Finally, grind in the chopped herbs into the salsa. If you are not using a molcajete, simply put everything into a food processor and blitz it a few times. You want this salsa to have some texture. Add salt if you need it, and you are good to go.
Notes
- You can substitute serrano chiles with chiltepin or pequin peppers ground with salt and garlic for a different heat profile.
- Ensure vegetables and chiles are well-charred to develop authentic smoky flavors.
- Peel chiles and garlic after roasting to remove charred skins for smoother texture.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 16servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 13 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 13kcal | 1% |
| Carbohydrates | 3g | 1% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 1g | 2% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 147mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 72mg | 2% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 138IU | 3% |
| Vitamin C | 4mg | 4% |
| Calcium | 11mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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