...Tastiness (CSA Style) - Roasted Salsa

Six or seven years ago, B and I had one of those house guests that you just couldn't shake - my little brother.  Luckily, it was a good fit - we helped him out by providing him a place to stay, and he helped around the house and was a constant source of entertainment.  He also kept us in supply of fresh salsa, replenishing the stock before we ever ran out.  And 6 years later, I still think about it every day.  I freaking love fresh salsa.

Our CSA box has been FULL of tomatoes lately of all varieties, especially heirlooms.  Couple that with B's dad bringing us Romas every week, and this tomato loving family has them coming out of our ears.

So I called my little brother up with a "Remember that time you used to make me fresh salsa weekly?  How did you do that?"  And he did me one better.  Instead of telling me how he made the salsa years ago (see below - without the roasting, but first blanching the jalapenos), he told me his new favorite way to make it.  Two weeks in a row of making it - and 4 and a half pints in my fridge later - it's become my favorite way, too.  The best part is that the only ingredients not from our CSA box are the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Not too shabby.

First, in pictures:

6-7 Tomatoes (Various Heirloom, and Romas)
3 Jalapenos
1 White Onion and 1/2 Red Onion
5-6 Cloves Garlic
Roasted

Everything but the tomatoes

Moments later

The finished product

These pictures are from my first attempt last week.  This week, I roasted the veggies a little longer and seeded the jalapenos before roasting for a milder flavor.  H complained.  He liked the salsa and wanted to eat it on everything, but it made his mouth "on fire".  No complaints from B or myself.  L hasn't met a spice she can't handle!

Roasted Salsa

One of the great things about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you'd like, and vary the heat to your liking.  Cilantro would be a great addition at the end, too, but I just didn't have any.

• Tomatoes - I had 4 big heirlooms and 3-4 Romas
• Jalapenos, stems removed - remove seeds for milder salsa
• Onion - red?  white?  both?  it doesn't matter
• Garlic - 4-5 cloves, to taste
• salt and pepper
• Olive Oil - just a drizzle

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Clean and quarter tomatoes and onions, remove stems (and seeds?) from jalapenos, peel garlic cloves, and arrange on baking sheet.
3. Drizzle veggies with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Roast veggies for 20-25 minutes.  Keep an eye on them.  They should get lightly brown around the edges, but not too brown.  (The second batch I made, I roasted a bit longer and it is even more flavorful!)
5. Once veggies are roasted, add all veggies but the tomatoes to your food processor, and pulse until slightly larger than your desired salsa consistency.  *Note: I only ended up adding 2 of the 3 jalapenos shown in the picture and the salsa is plenty spicy.
6. Add the tomatoes.  You'll only need to pulse the food processor a few times (3 or 4).  If you pulse it too much, your salsa will be pretty liquified.
7. Transfer into your vessel of choice and refrigerate.  It should keep for 2-3 weeks.  Some might choose to go through the canning process here in order to preserve the salsa for much longer.  Because I don't know how to do this, I just throw it in the fridge.
8. Enjoy!  I'm loving this salsa on egg whites every morning, in salads at lunch, and many other ways.