Friday, October 3, 2014

Fire-Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa – Tastily Teasing Forward

Sorry to spoil the surprise, but I just had to give away the fact that this delicious fire-roasted cherry tomato salsa was created to go alongside some pork carnitas we’ll be posting next. They made such an incredible pairing, I was tempted to post it all together, but then I remembered it was Friday, and there was a baseball game coming on.

Speaking of which, whether you end up making the carnitas or not, this gorgeous salsa would shine on any big-game snack table. The fire-roasting brings out a tremendous amount of flavor, and provides just the right touch of smoky goodness. I’m sure your friends are more than happy with the jarred stuff, but once in a while it’s nice to see if they’re paying attention.

You’ll want the flame of your broiler (or electric heating element) about 3-4 inches above the food, which may or may not be how far away your top rack is. If it’s too close, just use the next rack down, and use a pan like I did in the video to get it to the correct height.

By the way, I know eating “burned” foods mean ingesting carcinogenic materials, but I don’t care. This is no different than eating grill marks on a steak, or the crispy blackened ends on a brisket, and I’m not about to stop eating those things, so why would a few spoons of this scare me?

Anyway, stay tuned for the pork carnitas video, and in the meantime, I hope you give this fire-roasted cherry tomato salsa a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredient for about 2 cups of salsa:
2 tsp olive oil
1 generous pint cherry tomatoes (Sweet 100’s if you can find them)
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
8 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 jalapenos, sliced
juice of a lime, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
pinch dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried cumin
packed 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

32 comments:

Unknown said...

If this is kept in a plastic container, how long can it be kept in the fridge?

Chef John said...

It'll last a few days at least!

Unknown said...

Are cheery tomatoes any different than cherry tomatoes? Or just a happier bunch? Sorry, just giving you a hard time (I'm an editor). My real question: Would this lose any of its yumminess if frozen? I'd like to make a couple of batches and freeze it. And thank you for all your wonderful recipes - just love what you do!

Unknown said...

Carnitas is one of my favorite foods! My family has been warned that we'll be eating it next week and I look forward to watching you prep it. Meanwhile I'll give it a couple days and make this so its rested yet fresh for that day

John said...

Should you taste the Salsa with the already salted chips before adjusting for seasoning? Just wondering.
John Preston

Hopegriffith said...

Wonder if freezing would work as well.

Anonymous said...

That looks super good!

Unknown said...

LOL who was I kidding? its the next day and I'm making a batch for the football game.

inchrisin said...

Thanks for the great post, Mr. John.

I have 2 quick things:

1.I'm wondering if this can be over-blended in the blender. It looks like you might lose a speck of green or red, but otherwise maintain its consistency.

2.Every time I make salsa it bilayers. I get pools of water after the salsa settles. Any tips to prevent this?

Thanks!

Danni said...

if i can't find a jalapeno...what other type of chilli can i use? can i use preserved jalapenos instead? or would it change the taste?

Chef John said...

Any hot pepper will work! Yes, preserved would work, but taste different of course since that has vinegar in it.

Chef John said...

nchrisin, not sure what you mean by 1, but you can blend as much as you want. Just a personal textural choice.
2. This is normal, just stir back in.

Roz said...

I just made this and it is wonderful! What a taste! Everyone, make this, you will thank Chef John over and over. By the way thank you Chef John. Once again, when I make your recipes they always turn perfect. Now excuse me while I go eat some more.

Supersoda said...

I just made this. Magnificent. Truthfully, I might never buy store bought salza again.

Pinko Foe said...

Delish and fantastic on those yummy carnitas. Thanks Chef John for yet another great recipe

Don Gringo said...

I live in Brazil and salsa basically doesnt exist down here so this is a lifesaver. Super good flavor that can hold as much heat as you want to add to it. Plus its only REAL food and you know when you buy that tostitos salsa, which is super good, its just full of chemicals. thanks CJ, another successful addition to my rotation!

Chris said...

My 2 pints of tomatoes was less than your 1 generous pint....you're a very nice guy, apparently!

In seriousness though, if I didnt have the video, my proportions would be all out of whack. Perhaps weight measurements would help eliminate regional/vendor/seasonal variations?

SS4Kokoro said...

Do you have to actually char the produce? I can't stand that charred texture. Can you just simply bake them or otherwise cook them without having to char them?

Unknown said...

@SS4KOKORO Seeing as how it's blended, I don't see how the texture would be a problem. All you're left with is the wonderful smokiness of the char and the sweetness of the roasted veg.

Gretchen said...

made this and it was Uh-MAYzing! Forced to use my *blush* nu wave oven b/c it's almost 100F here in New Orleans - too hot to grill and too hot to use the oven at all. Tomatoes and onions sort of carmelized, kind of like veggie candy. And no shame Dude. We have "Walsa" all over our backsplash in the kitchen. Collateral damage.

Gripper99 said...

I've made this salsa many times. It's delicious. I have discovered that this salsa also works beautifully as an ingredient for an excellent Spanish-style or Tex-Mex rice as well. I use a mixture of up to 1/2 of this salsa and 1/2 chicken stock as cooking liquid for dry rice and serve it as a side dish. I also find that I can make this salsa with the cilantro stems which blend up just fine. I save the cilantro leaves for garnish or other other dishes that I might serve with the rice. Another winner. Thank you Chef John!

Golph said...

Fantastic salsa for sure. I used some cumin seeds that i toasted and ground and went a bit heavier on the garlic as well (smaller cloves to I increased 3 or 4). I used some cracked black pepper. I couldn't get the tomatoes shown so I substituted 10.5 oz of Cherub tomatoes (This is an oval shaped salad style cherry). I tasted first and found I actually did need the cayenne pepper sprinkle which resulted in a medium heat that lingered in back of the mouth. I used a 1/2 cup of the salsa with about 2lbs chicken thighs that I cooked on low heat and shredded with adobo and ancho powder (2 Tbsp of the chili and 1 Tbsp of the powder). Came out absolutely amazing. While I realize this is an older video, its a timeless recipe for sure and makes for a rock solid foundation with both pork and chicken (and probably lots of other stuff) Thank you for the work you put into it! Its greatly appreciated!

Howard said...

Made this for 4th of July. It was a massive hit! I ate it all week...

Unknown said...

Thank you, this was so delicious. Can i pressure cook this recipe to add to my pantry? and how long would it last for.
thank you thank you:)))))

Unknown said...

I made this once and now no one in my home will eat store bought salsa anymore! Luckily this recipe takes seconds to prep and minutes to broil. Delicious!

Sheila Gray said...

I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes and would like to make a large batch of this Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa. Is this recipe appropriate for canning? I would like to can some for later.

Unknown said...

This is absolutely amazing salsa. I made it with your carnitas last week and then made it twice more to take to Labor Day parties over the weekend. My family and friends can't get enough. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!

Unknown said...

I would like to know the canning answer as well! We love this salsa and would love to can it but we are newer to canning and are unsure??

bv said...

I wonder how an avocado would work in it?

luisbet1032 said...

I made this salsa for the labor day weekend.... it was a Hit. I will never ever get supermarket salsa again. I will make my own from now on and my family and friends will love it too. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I left you a comment on the Youtube video, but I figured I would post it here too:
"I want to thank you again Chef John, for this glorious salsa recipe.

I had never really ventured into Mexican salsa recipes, outside of a simple pico de gallo with four main ingredients... BUT after seeing how easy this was to pull off, I don't think I will ever buy store-bought bland salsa again. This was really very easy to pull together and it tasted fantastic! My guests were really impressed at my little dinner party yesterday, and of course we served this with your carnitas recipe, and it was an absolute hit. Thanks for what is probably the 15th or 16th time we have tried your recipes (and may I add that they always are so good) Chef John!


Don Bakke said...

Hi Chef John! I've made this salsa twice and it always has great flavor. However, when I make it the salsa always comes out very thick, like paste. I also don't seem to have much left over liquid in the pan after taken it out of the oven. I'm using the exact ingredients and amounts as specified in the blog post. Any ideas?