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.