Charred Tomato and Jalapeño Salsita
This is my version of Patti Jinich’s perfectly simple salsa recipe called Salsita Asada Jitomate y Jalapeño, or Roasted Tomato and Jalapeño Salsita for us gringos. Just three ingredients—fresh tomatoes, jalapeños, and salt. Patti chars her veggies under the broiler or in a comal on the stovetop. I do mine on my gas grill. The trick is to use fresh tomatoes and jalapeños and get a good char on them. Let them cool a little, then toss them in a blender, skins and all, and add salt to taste. That’s it. You can scale this recipe down and make small batches to eat within a week or so. I make large batches which I put into pint jars and process in a water bath canner. I include a bit of instruction for canning salsa below, but for a full tutorial, see my canning page. This recipe makes 5-6 pints of salsa. Scale it down by half if you don’t plan to process it.
Equipment
- 5 regular mouth pint jars
- 5 regular mouth jar lids
- 5 regular mouth rings
- 1 Canning funnel
- 1 pair of tongs
- 1 jar lifter
- 1 deep stock pot with lid You water bath pot must be large enough to hold 5 jars and deep enough so that water completely covers the tops of the jars.
Ingredients
- 14 large ripe tomatoes (about 3 lbs.) washed cored, and cut in half
- 6-18 jalapenos washed (use as many as you like depending on how hot you like your salsa
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Char the veggies. Lay a large piece of foil over the grates of a gas grill. Fold up the edges and corners slightly to keep the juices from dripping into the fire. Place the halved tomatoes edge to edge in rows on the foil. Turn on the burners (I usually start on high heat until the tomatoes begin cooking, then turn it down to medium-low.) Add the peppers in a row around the foil. Keep the lid up on the grill.
- As the peppers begin to char, turn them over with tongs to get a good char on all sides, then remove them to a bowl and allow to cool.
- Keep cooking the tomatoes until they are charred on the bottom and pretty soft but not mushy. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Resting them helps to release the bottoms from the foil, allowing you to pick them up off the foil without leaving the char behind.
- While the tomatoes are resting, remove the stems from the peppers and put half of them into a blender container. After 5-10 minutes, carefully remove half of the tomatoes to the blender. Add a teaspoon of salt and blend at low speed until everything is well incorporated.
- Pour into a large pot if you plan to process for storage, then blend the other half. (If you don’t plan to process, just pour into a bowl and serve.)
Canning Instructions
- Here’s an overview of how to can salsa in a water bath canner. This is s simple method and safe for acidic foods like tomatoes and jams and jellies. For complete instructions, see my canning page.
- Bring the salsa to a hard boil, stirring to prevent sticking, then reduce the heat to low. The tomatoes will foam a bit; remove the foam with a spoon. When all your canning supplies are sterilized and ready, turn off the heat under the salsa.
- Ladle the salsa into clean, sterilized jars and add a half teaspoon of lemon juice to each jar. Top with sterilized lids and rings and lower the jars into a boiling water bath so that the tops are completely covered by water. Bring to a hard boil and process for 20 minutes.
- Remove jars from the water bath and allow to cool. The tops will “pop” as they cool and form a vacuum seal. Store in a cool, dry place for up to a year.
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