Blistered Tomato Salsa

If you are a tomato person, I am sure you will agree that tomatoes in all forms are one of the most delicious and versatile foods out there. Raw in salad, cooked into a sauce, squished inside a sandwich, and yes, in a fresh salsa. So many ways to enjoy them. If those tomatoey situations sounded great to you, then there is little doubt you wouldn’t devour this salsa. Normal salsas play off of the bright, acidic and sweet flavors of raw tomato. But, if you give those guys a quick roast or broil before tossing them into a serving bowl you will have yourself a salsa so flavorful and deepened in flavor complexity, you’ll be asking yourself why you never had tried it before.

Roasting tomatoes concentrates their sweetness while also playing up their savoriness and rich caramelized notes. So it’s like tomatoes x100. Very awesome and definitely something to enjoy in your life often. The best part is that it is so quick and easy to transform tomatoes in this way. Within 15 minutes you can have meal changing, deliciously blistered tomatoes.

This salsa is amazing simply with a bowl of crispy chips to act as salsa vehicles. It would be awesome too on pretty much any sort of protein from light, flaky fish to rich steak. You could also toss it into a salad to coat the leaves with the savory goodness, or toss it in pasta for a similar result. If you had only one issue with this salsa, I bet it would be that you didn’t make enough. :)

Blistered Tomato Salsa

Makes about 1.5 cups

1.5 cups (225g) grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 cup (80g) onion, diced into 1/2” pieces

2 tsp. garlic, grated or minced into a paste

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. cumin, ground

few grinds black pepper

big pinch flaky salt

cayenne to taste

2 tsp. cilantro, minced

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Pre-heat the broil feature on your oven.

Toss together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oil, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne in a bowl until evenly mixed.

Spray a sheet pan with pan spray. Lay out veggies in an even layer. Try to turn all the tomatoes cut side up for best cooking.

Cook on the rack closest to the broiler heat source for 12-15 minutes. Salsa is done when tomatoes and onions are deeply roasted, with only small amounts of char. Remove and let cool to room temp.

Transfer to a bowl and mix in the lime juice and cilantro. Enjoy right away or store covered in the fridge for a couple days.