I have the best intentions of going to the grocery for salmon and salad most evenings. It’s just the darndest thing… I usually walk out of the store with a bag of chips, a jar of salsa, a bottle of wine, and sometimes a box of cookies (as if I don’t make enough cookies of my own). Sometimes it’s cold cereal, almond milk, and wine. Sometimes it’s just quinoa and wine.
I don’t know… I can make a pie, it’s just that dinner is sometimes asking too much.
Today I went to the grocery and picked up ingredients to make salsa… for dinner. Not just a jar.
It’s summer vegetables (with hella chips)! Justification complete.
On a scale from mild to AAAHHHHHHH!!!, hatch chiles are a medium-spicy. They have a little kick that some might refer to as a big kick.
When thrown on a pan with cherry tomatoes, whole garlic cloves and red onion, the whole mixture puckers and blisters. The more char you create the more delicious your salsa will be.
It’s an aggressive roast. Why not just go for it?
Charred tomatoes and chiles make their way into the food processor.
Wait… that’s after we remove the tops and seeds from the hatch chiles.
And you know what handling chiles means, right? Wash yo hands, on the real.
We’re going to need a big squeeze of lime and maybe a dash of water. Blend that sucker up! Now it’s salsa!!
Salsa with chips. Go on and call it dinner. You’re in good company. You’re in my company.
This salsa has depth thanks to the roasting. We’ve intensified the tomatoes and chiles, onions and garlic, making this salsa completely irresistable. The spice is there, but it’s delicious, not impossible.
It’s good stuff. Of course it is!
Blackened Hatch and Tomato Salsa
makes about 2 cups
super delicious and inspired by Kitchen Konfidence
3 hatch chile peppers
1 small red onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 pound cherry tomatoes
salt, fresh cracked black pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil
juice of 1 or 2 limes
small handful fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
splash of water, to thin it out a bit
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place whole hatch chiles, quartered onion, whole garlic cloves, and whole cherry tomatoes on an unlined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Place in the oven and allow to roast for 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and toss the vegetables together. Place the oven on t he broiler setting to char the vegetables (this works best in a gas oven). Place the vegetables as close to the broiler as possible and keep an eye on the vegetables as they begin to char. Remove from the broiler and toss as necessary until the desired char is reached.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest until cool enough to handle. Place the onion, garlic,and tomato in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment.
Place chiles on a cutting board. Use a knife to remove their tops and cut lengthwise down the center. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and discard. Coarsely chop the chiles and add to the bowl of the food processor. Add lime juice and a few tablespoons of water. Blend until combined. Stir in cilantro if using. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to serve.
Brad
Made this with one alteration… instead of using the broiler in my oven, I roasted the vegetables on a charcoal grill with a couple chunks of mesquite. Added a nice smokey flavor to it.
Bethany
Do you think adding corn to the roasting party would be cool with all the other guests? Or should I do it separately, over a gas flame? I’m thinking this would be delicious with some skirt steak and cojita.
Kimberly
This was really good! Sweet from the tomatoes and onion, tart from the lime juice, and hot from the peppers. Our MILD hatch peppers ended up being very hot, so we roasted the rest of the large container of cherry tomatoes and added them to the salsa.
I am thinking a variation of this would make a fantastic pasta sauce – cherry tomatoes, garlic, and onion tossed in olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar or red wine, sea salt, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes then roasted and pureed with fresh basil leaves.
I would definitely make the salsa again!
Emily @ Life on Food
favorite snack ever is chips and salsa. I could eat them all day every day. With this yummy looking salsa I don’t think I would ever stop.
Carli
This just inspired my own version… aaaaand I’ll never go back to buying salsa in a jar. They never make it spicy or cilantro-y enough anyways.
Carli
and here’s what mine looks like –> https://secure.flickr.com/photos/cteteris/9554675672/
tracy {pale yellow}
Chips and salsa is totally acceptable dinner. As is cheese and crackers. Or bean dip and carrots. And you need to wash it all down, obvi! These kind of dinners are one of the joys of being a single lady!
Golden Sun Resto
That looks crazy good. Not much of a salsa person but dayum. I’m into Asian cuisine and I’m a regular at a Chinese Restaurant in Capalaba area but if I’ve always been curious about South American cuisine.
Michele DeMuro
Just picked some fresh tomatoes and and peppers from my dad’s garden :):):):) Can’t wait to try this with freshly picked ingredients! I’m sure it will taste wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Shana
I am dying to try hatch chilies, there are always so many amazing recipes that call for them, but we never get them up here in Toronto. I’ve even looked online to buy the seeds and grow my own with no luck. This looks so delicious – curse you hatch chilies!
kitchen afternoon
Fiddle a bit with the salsa and it becomes gazpacho – fresh vegetable soup for dinner is on the plus side of the ledger! NIce photos!
tora
MMMMMMMMMMMM.
Yep- that looks good to me. Yep.
Tora || http://www.torabaker.co.uk
Renee @ Awesome on $20
We have snack food for dinner probably more often than we have dinner food. Usually with cider. It’s the only way to live life!
Jessica @ Floptimism
Hello! My name’s Jessica, and every week on my food blog, Floptimism, I write a post called the Weekend Wrap-Up where I share some of my favorite web finds from the past week. I loved this salsa recipe so much that I featured it on this week’s round up! I’ve included the link below in case you’re interested. Thank you for such incredible work, and enjoy your weekend!
http://floptimism.blogspot.com/2013/08/weekend-wrap-up-going-off-deep-end.html
(Basically there’s not a single week that goes by that I don’t fall totally in love with one of the recipes you write about, so I’m sorry if the comments week after week get a little old! I just want to make sure you know I’m crediting you for all of your work.)
Miss Kim @ behgopa
I love chips and salsa. your post be making me crave some now so badly. Homemade salsa is the best. I’m trying your recipe the next time I make salsa.
auntiemaryann
Do you peel the chilies? We do, in New Mexico. It’s very labor intensive when you’re roasting big batches of chili. Nowadays people freeze their green chili; they used to dry it on screens. Or you could wait til it turned red, tie it into a wreathe or long ristra and let it dry.
Abbie
Your salsa looks fabulous!! Pinning! :D
Leah
Salsa is so underrated! I love Mexican food, especially the different colours from the peppers and tomatoes yum yum :)
Ellen
Chips, salsa and wine is the one of the most perfect meals.
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
Reading this post just reminded me that I’m hungry and I have chips and guac leftover from my dinner the other night…because that WAS my dinner the other night. You’re not the only one who can bake all day but dinner? OH way too much work.
Katie
You said “hella.” Oh yes, this makes me happy happy Joy. And also the whole cookies thing. We are as one.
ATasteOfMadness
Wow, I can’t believe I have never made salsa before! This one looks like the perfect place to start. Thank you!
Vickie
Perfect dinner! But, I would include a margarita!
joythebaker
good thinking!
Gina
Where did you get those chips? I can never find good ones. And this salsa looks so much easier than what I usually go through and mine is not roasted. Thanks for this one.
Arthur in the Garden!
Nice! We Southerner’s love our chiles!
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious
Thanks the Lord you always get wine!! I gotta get on the hatch bandwagon…I’m a big spice lover and can easily make a bag of chips and salsa go POOF!! and they’re gone.
Desiree
fresh salsa is the best! Yum.
Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog
Guacamole is my grocery store weakness. Most days I could just eat that with a glass of wine and maybe some fruit and call it dinner. Salsa sounds just as tasty.
Katie
My son is named Hatch (after the chilies, because we are either really mean parents or he’ll thank us for his unique name later in life…remains to be seen). We’ll have to make this!
Raquel Somatra
This is the kind of recipe people get engaged over.
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
Ahhh such a perfect afternoon snack!! I want this now!
bakerkat
Yum Chips and salsa can’t be beat.
LQ
you had me at “chip, salsa and wine for dinner”
Rosie
Mmm these look scrummy, think I will have to give the salsa a go :)
Sandee Pacific
Thanks Joy I think I will give this a try minus the cilantro, I like spicy, my husband not so much. Oh well more for me!
cindy
my mom’s husband is Navajo from New Mexico and his family harvests and roasts TONS of Hatch chiles…they have a huge party. I’ve never been, but my mom usually brings me a bunch of chiles. They are amazing!
I love your aggressive roasting…go big!
Erin van der Wyk
This sounds fantastic, and just the thing for dinner. Never heard of hatch chillies before but assume I can use any old chilli and add to my taste? Bring on Tex Mex night…
Julia @ Basket of Juls
Look fantastic. I totally feel you on going to the grocery for dinner and coming out with something like bread, cheese, a bottle of wine and some dark chocolate. Sometimes the best dinners are easy-peasy with a side of wine :)This salsa look spectacularly easy and delicious!
Christy
Yummmmm. That sounds so good.
Jan
Yes! Roasted salsa! I discovered a recipe like this in an old issue of MS Everyday Food, and was instantly hooked. So yummy. So easy.
P.S. I agree with you about dinner. Dinner is hard. My go-to recently has been corn tortillas microwaved with marble cheddar so it gets all warm and melty, and then topped with salsa (and I mean the jarred kind, not homemade). Sigh. Eventually I will grow up and be able to make my own dinner, right? Maybe not….
Pedantic Foodie
i want this for breakfast!
Paige C
I love making salsas, and as a Texan in New England, it’s fun amazing our local friends with how delicious fresh salsa is (and how easy it is). For some reason, I’ve never thought to add Hatch chiles (or green chiles since we can never get the real deal up here). What a great idea!
Tieghan
Mmm! I love these flavors and roasting always brings out such awesome flavors! This looks amazing!
Belinda @themoonblushbaker
No idea that salsa was so easy to make, no more jar stuff for me! Love shopping too but god I can not step out of super market with out a bag of sugar and a block of butter. If i wanted to make this spicier could i roast the small chilli in the mix too?
Ana
Add a jalapeno or a habanero pepper. That should do the trick.
shelly @ ohshellsbells
Thanks for identifying this chile for me. it came in my CSA box and I have been too lazy to do any research into what it is. I just cut one up one day, threw it in a stir fry and found out the hard way I’m one that thinks it has a big kick!
Rochelle
Gorgeous salsa! I have a ton of cherry tomatoes from the garden that are begging to be roasted. I guess I can make another trip out there to get the onions and peppers too! Thank you for the inspiration.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Brandon’s recipe looked great last summer and you made yours look great now – LOVING these flavors and homemade salsa cannot be beat. Mmmm, I’d love some right now!
Kezia
That looks so good! I’ve never tried making a salsa from roasted ingredients. And definitely, definitely wash your hands after handling the chilli (says the gal who got chilli in her eye)!
Louisa @ My Family & Abruzzo
Homemade salsa and/or hummus, crisps (chips) and white wine – totally get it! It’s one of my Friday night favs.
Nelly Ritchie
That is my kind of dinner. My boyfriend is all about the proper dinner, meat and potatoes type of guy.
I am more of a cereal with my gin and tonic kind of girl…
Its hard.
joythebaker
cereal and gin and tonic sounds right up my alley!
Jayne
I’ve been seeing this hatch chile thing all over Instagram. :-)
joythebaker
they’re in season now and we’re excited about it!
Ana
I’m from New Mexico. We’re fanatical about the stuff. I suggest putting it on a pizza or on a cheeseburger. Pure bliss.
Sophie @ The Spotty Teapot
Salsa is always a good choice for dinner, i love making my own salsa, as I find that the supermarkets don’t always do it the way I like.
This just looks delicious, and it’s making me hungry :)
X
carla
perfect snack <3
Carla Cee
Robyn
That is summer dinner- or even one of my many snacks!
Haley
Yum!! This looks so easy! I will have to try this. I’ll let you know when I do!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
Luuuuuurrr that salsa. This looks like total sunset snack food. On a deck somewhere with a cold drink, ya know?
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
yes please to chips and salsa for dinner! summer living at its best.
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence
Thanks for the mention. This is one if my FAV salsas. So glad you liked it :)