Kristin's Roasted Salsa

I love the fresh salsas where you just cut up a bunch of veggies and call it good.  But can I make a confession though?  I miss my Pace Picante Sauce. Yikes!  I just said it.  It's not really that specific brand but just the texture and consistency of it as well as how long it keeps in the fridge.  (Yeah, I know, some of that is due to preservatives.) So I set out to figure out how to make such a salsa.  I spent lots of time looking at other people's recipes and never found one that I liked.

Enter experimentation.  This salsa turned out well and is very similar in texture to your average picante sauce.  However, it has a nice, rich, roasted flavor.  I'm not sure how long it will last in the fridge but I figure "cooking" my salsa will help it last longer than just using raw veggies.  Here is my recipe:

6 roma Tomatoes, cut in half and squeezed to rid them of seeds
3 jalapenos seeded and coarsely chopped
1 onion cut into large chunks
1 bell pepper of your choice (I like red), cut into large chunks
2 tbsp minced garlic
3-4 sprigs of cilantro for roasting
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 tbsp lime juice
1 6 oz can of organic tomato paste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional for an extra kick)
olive oil
sea salt

Directions:

1)  Spread olive oil on the bottom of a roasting pan or cookie sheet.  Place the tomatoes, jalapenos  onion, cilantro sprigs, minced garlic, and bell pepper on the the pan.  Drizzle with more olive oil and top with sea salt to your liking.  Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  About half way through, stir the veggies up and replace in the oven.

2)  The veggies should be soft.  If you like, you can pull off the tomato skins though I just left mine on.  Next, blend the veggies up.  I used my magic bullet in batches for this but you can use a food processor or even a blender.  I left mine a little chunky instead of pureeing to a smooth pulp.

3)  Transfer your veggie mix to a sauce pan.  Stir in lime juice, tomato paste, chopped cilantro, and cayenne pepper until well blended over medium heat.  Let simmer for a few minutes and then you are done!

I used these old salsa bottles to store my salsa.  As you can see, I got two jars from one batch.  If you are like me and like your salsa chilled, just stick it in the fridge and enjoy later.