By Manzanillo Sun Writer from the July 2018 Edition
Roasted Tomato and Green Chile Salsa
This is archetypal salsa, made from tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, and lime. But more than a mere mix of ingredients, salsa de molcajete uses centuries-old techniques to combine flavors, bringing out the best of each.
Ingredients
✓ 6 plum tomatoes (about 1 pound)
✓ 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
✓ 2 jalapeño peppers
✓ 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
✓ 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
✓ 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
✓ 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Step 1
Preheat broiler.
Step 2
Place the tomatoes, garlic, and jalapeños on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 16 minutes, turning after 8 minutes. Cool and peel tomatoes and garlic. Combine the garlic and peppers in a molcajete, mortar, or bowl; pound with a pestle or the back of a spoon to form a paste. Add tomatoes, and coarsely crush using the pestle or spoon. Combine the tomato mixture, cilantro, and remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
Chef’s Notes
Roasting tomatoes gives them a sweet and complex taste; rinsing onion under cold water makes it crisp; and crushing roasted garlic and chiles in a mortar releases their full flavor.
Though it’s typically done in a molcajete (Mexican lava rock mortar), you can also make this salsa using a marble mortar and pestle (as we did). Finely chopping the garlic and chile in a food processor then adding the tomatoes and pulsing the mixture until everything is coarsely pureed will yield great-tasting results as well.
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Manzanillo Sun’s eMagazine written by local authors about living in Manzanillo and Mexico, since 2009