Salsa Roja
Salsa roja is a delicious cooked salsa with combination of three types of chiles, for just the right amount of heat and smoky flavor. Makes 2 cups. Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, 2019.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 26kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound Roma tomatoes cored and sliced in half vertically.
- 1/4 small onion unpeeled.
- 1 clove garlic unpeeled and whole.
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 dried ancho chile stem and seeds removed, torn into small pieces.
- 3 teaspoons canned chipotle in adobo sauce minced. Divided.
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems chopped coarsely.
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Tear ancho chile into small pieces and place in blender or food processor. Process until finely chopped, about 20-30 seconds.
- Add 3 or 4 of the halved tomatoes to the food processor and 1 teaspoon of the canned chipotles in adobo sauce. Pulse several times, scraping down sides of bowl until tomatoes are finely chopped. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Heat oven to broil and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the remaining tomatoes, skin side down, the whole jalapeno, and onion quarter on the baking sheet. Place in oven 4 to 5 inches from broiler element and roast 4-6 minutes or until tomatoes blister and jalapeno begins to blacken.
- Turn onion and jalapeno, and add whole clove of garlic to baking sheet. Continue to roast until all veggies are blackened, another 3-4 minutes.
- When cool enough to handle, peel garlic and slice jalapeno in half. Remove seeds, white ribs and stem.
- Add whole garlic, jalapeno, onion, tomatoes, salt and cilantro leaves and stems and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and additional chipotle. (I add one teaspoon at a time, processing for a few seconds, until the heat is just right).
- Store in an airtight container for up to to a week.