Food week: Roasted pepper salsa
I hosted a small gathering over the weekend and, as usual, cooked too much. So, I’m taking the week to offer up my recipes on the blog.
The theme of the night wound up being roasted peppers. It turns out that roasting six of them gives you more than you need to work with. If you’ve never roasted your own peppers, you’re missing out. As you know – because you’ve bought the jarred ones – roasting brings out the sweetness. But jarred roasted peppers tend to be salty and briny.
I used orange, yellow and red peppers (they’re all sweeter than green). Seed and wash the peppers and cut them in quarters. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. I added rosemary and basil; I’ve been known to use clove on occasion, as well.
Place the peppers in the pan, drizzle lightly with more olive oil. After about 8 minutes, flip the peppers, roast for another 5-6 minutes.
Line a plate with paper towels, then put the peppers on the plate to cool, but don’t let them dry completely. These will last in the refrigerator for a few days.
Salsa
Now for the salsa. Ingredients:
• 1 roasted pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 jalapeño peppers, sliced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
In a saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and jalapeño pepper. Add tomato and water, turn heat down to medium and cover. Bring to a boil.
Add remaining ingredients. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
Drain some liquid if desired (I prefer my salsa on the thick/chunky side).
Makes about 3 quarts, and would qualify as a mass-market medium salsa. A tablespoon of cayenne pepper or another three jalapeños would kick up the heat a bit.
Tags: roasted peppers, salsa
