I have to admit… my husband and I are fairly new gardeners and we can get a bit carried away with the veggies we decide to grow. Of course he wanted to plant various types of peppers this season but I was concerned on how many ways I could really use them. I convinced him to go with bell peppers (incredibly versatile), Anaheim peppers (not spicy and full of flavor for many uses), Santa Fe Peppers (pale yellow/white peppers), and Jalapeños! I knew hotter peppers like Habañeros or Serranos could be fun and interesting to add to certain recipes but what would I have done with an abundance of them?! Seriously.. comment with tips because I may have to include them in my next crop!
Any who… fast forward to the start of summer and I have pepper and tomato plants bursting at the seams! With thoughts of “I told you so” looming… I’m also quite impressed by our garden producing such incredible farm to table eats! Now, my mom makes some of the best salsa I’ve ever eaten all my life, but with the assortment of peppers I have on hand.. it was time to come up with something new. I’ve always loved the flavor roasting adds, so I took that route but I was on a mission to create a simple recipe for newbies and chefs alike.
I tossed most of the ingredients onto a pan to roast, literally ingredients one through five (and I’m considering roasting the garlic next time too)! And from there, the hardest part of the recipe is removing skins and seeds before throwing everything into a food processor to blend it up.
Can I just mention… the smell of roasting peppers is the ultimate vacation for your nose! Holy yum!! When you’re roasting the veggies, it’s best to keep an eye on the oven since there is no particular science on how quickly your veggies will brown. The key is to brown the skins, not char them. They will be easy to remove once the bubbling has appeared. When the peppers and tomatoes have roasted to brown perfection (flipped halfway through) remove from under the broiler and cover to let steam do it’s continued work on cooking the peppers.. plus you’ll want the ingredients at a manageable temperature to remove the skins and seeds. I prefer to leave the skins on the tomatillos and jalapeño but everything else I remove. Including seeds and veins unless you want spicier salsa!
From there, toss all ingredients into a food processor, with the garlic on the bottom to ensure proper mincing. From there, pulse to preferred texture and poor into a bowl to chill and serve! If you don’t have a food processor, a blender will work but I highly recommend investing in one… as I truly believe they are a mini-hero in the kitchen!
Given most of the vegetables would be fairly warm, you’ll definitely need to stick this salsa in the fridge so it can continue to develop flavor and cool down to proper (enjoyable) salsa temperature!
Serve up this delicious roasted salsa with your favorite (locally made) chips to impress the best of salsa connoisseurs!
Ingredients
- 4-5 Anaheim Chilies (the straighter they are the easier to roast)
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 2 tomatillos
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 yellow pepper (AKA Santa Fe Pepper or chile guerito)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp celtic sea salt
- 1 tsp minced dried onion
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- De-husk tomatillos and wash all vegetables.
- Lay out on a roasting pan and set oven to Broil (500 degrees)
- Roast until pepper skins start to brown and flip
- Pull from oven and cover with foil to allow peppers and tomatoes the opportunity to continue steaming as they cool to a workable temperature
- Remove skins from roma tomatoes, anaheims and yellow pepper. Remove stems, seeds & veins from all peppers unless you’d like the added heat
- Add roasted vegetables plus all remaining ingredients to a food processor
- Pulse until blended well (or to preferred texture)
- Poor into a bowl and chill prior to serving
-Essentially a Salsa-Lovin Mom
Essentially a Mom 