I love this salsa recipe, and make it every year for Fourth of July. While it appears deceptively average, it actually delivers electric flavor with each bite. When you’re ready to move on from salsa fresca, make this. What you’ll have is a deliciously vibrant, earthy, and slightly smoky-tasting salsa. Different from salsa fresca, the deep, caramelized flavors of roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotles make for a richly beautiful and balanced salsa. And, that color! It’s beautiful.
Salsa Inspiration
Initially, I’d been sitting on this salsa recipe for over six months, waiting (and waiting) for tomato season. I waited through citrus season, asparagus season, and a good chunk of the stone fruits. Every few weeks I’d flip through my pocket-sized notebook and there it was, a messy scribble of black pen spanning three-quarters of a single page. The black letters were there to remind me of the deliciously vibrant, earthy, and slightly smoky-tasting salsa I jotted down while visiting friends (Hadley & Philip) in New Zealand. It is a salsa richly red in hue, accented with tiny flecks of green cilantro. We stayed with in Wellington for a week, and Hadley made this salsa for us one evening.
Why this Salsa?
If you are used to making or buying salsa fresca, great. I love salsa fresca and make it regularly. This salsa is an entirely different beast – the deep, caramelized flavors of the roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotle(s) makes for a richly beautiful and balanced salsa. The other thing I love is the texture. This salsa has a rustic, hearty texture which comes from pureeing a portion of the ingredients toward the beginning of the process, and then hand-chopping the majority of the roasted tomatoes and onions. With the roasted ingredients, it is a bit more effort, to be sure, but SO worth it.
Not just for chips, this is the perfect salsa recipe for use on nachos, tacos, eggs, veggie burgers, quesadillas, kabobs…..a perfect addition of a Fourth of July spread. Other ideas? Give a shout in the comments.
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