An Inspired Cook

All summer I’ve been thinking about a fresh salsa with heirloom tomatoes.  We were a bit late to the farmers market this week and the best heirloom tomatoes had been picked over but I found a vendor who let me pick out all I wanted.  They were blemished but firm and I thought these would be great for my salsa.  I picked up a few green tomatoes as well to experiment and see how they would taste roasted.  I decided if they were a bust, I’d leave them out but they were fantastic and not at all what I thought they would be like. So I blended the red, the yellow, and the green tomatoes to make a beautiful fiesta salsa that was fresh and tangy.  I have a major weakness for salsa and could sit with a bag of chips and eat the whole bowl by myself but this salsa would be great alongside several dishes.  I keep thinking how that would taste over a piece of grilled Margarita chicken.  Ooh the possibilities . . .

I had a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.  I mixed and matched and weighed until I had about 2 pounds of tomatoes.

The rest of my salsa ingredients included green onion, cilantro, garlic, Hatch green chile (which we got freshly roasted just recently) and a jalapeno.

I took the tomatoes and jalapeno out to the gas grill.  I started with the green tomatoes and jalapeno because I knew they would take a little more time.  Keep your tongs handy and once they start to char it goes quickly.  Keep turning the tomatoes and jalapeno until the skin starts to peel away over all sides.  Since I am over an open flame, occasionally the skin will catch fire, keep an eye on it.  When they are ready, place in a plastic bag.  Now do the same with the ripe red and yellow heirloom tomatoes.  They will take less time and you will need to rotate continuously over the hot grill.

Just like when roasting chiles, place in a bag and seal for 5 – 10 minutes to let them sweat it out.  It will make the skins slide off effortlessly.

Just about to run these under slow running water to peel.  Any leftover skin can be peeled away with a knife but most will slide off easily.  I cored them afterwards.

That was easy.  Also peeled and removed the seeds from the jalapeno.  Now it’s time to dice everything up.

I love the trio of colors, and the green tomato is tender, not crunchy.  The chemical reaction from roasting has mellowed the flavor of the green tomato so it blends in well with the heirloom.

It’s a fiesta in a bowl!

Time to add the additions of green chile, sliced green onion, roasted jalapeno, chopped cilantro and grated garlic.  Normally I would add lime juice but after tasting it I decided it already had a tartness and the addition of lime might be too much.

I salted it to my taste and then added a pinch of sugar.  The sugar toned down the tartness and brought out the flavors.

I know you’ll love this Fiesta Salsa!


Fire Roasted Fiesta Salsa

2 pounds Tomatoes (Heirloom Red, Yellow, and Green Tomatoes)
1/3 cup Green Onion, sliced thin
1/3 cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
1 Jalapeno
1 clove Garlic, grated on a microplane grater
3 Hatch Green Chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
Salt to Taste

Fire roast tomatoes and jalapeno over the open flame of a gas grill.  Use tongs to turn tomatoes and char on all sides.  Skin will start to split and peel away.  Place tomatoes and jalapeno in a plastic bag and seal for 5 – 10 minutes.  Peel tomatoes under slow running water.  Core tomatoes, peel and seed jalapeno.  Chop the tomatoes, jalapeno, green chiles and prepare the rest of the salsa ingredients.

Combine salsa ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add 1/4 teaspoon sugar and salt to taste.  Refrigerate any unused salsa in a covered container.

Makes about 8 cups