Roasted Green Salsa

Day 2 of Salsa Week and this time we are kicking it with a Roasted Green Salsa!

Recently a reader contacted me with a question about my Roasted Tomato Salsa.  Then she asked me about a green salsa.  She said that her favorite Mexican restaurant serves this green salsa but that it’s not made with tomatillo.

Curious!

Because when we think of green salsa, we automatically think of tomatillos, right? Those little green things that look like tomatoes but are located with all the peppers.  She mentioned that the server didn’t really know what the salsa was because it was a secret but that they thought it was made from jalapenos.

While this could very well be the case, imagine how many jalapenos you would have to use to get the amount of salsa needed to serve an entire restaurant.  Exactly!  A crazy huge number!  I thought about it for a little bit then said well maybe they used poblano peppers.  They are green and might be able to produce a nice salsa.

The more I thought about it, the more I was very interested in playing around with the poblanos to see if they do make for a good salsa.  Cooking is always a big experiment anyway, right?  So I got to it!

Andrea’s Roasted Green Salsa

  • 4 Large Poblano Peppers (seeded, chunked)
  • 1 Large Red Tomato (cut into sections)
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1/2 a Medium Onion (chunked)
  • 1 Chipotle Pepper + One heaping spoonful of adobo sauce
  • Juice of 1/2 a Lime
  • Cilantro to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Olive Oil for cooking

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat the peppers and tomato pieces with olive oil, a very small amount, around 3 tsp.  Sprinkle with just a touch of salt and place on a lined baking sheet.  Roast in oven for about 10 minutes or until everything is warmed through and softened.  You’ll be able to smell them and that’s when they are about done and ready to come out.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  In a food processor, combine the peppers and tomato along with all the other ingredients.  Pulse until you get the consistency you like.  I prefer a smoother salsa, so I pulse mine for a few minutes.

Taste and see if more salt and pepper needs to be added.  I used probably around 1/2 tsp of salt in mine.  Serve with chips and veggies!

I was very impressed with this salsa!  It was so yummy and totally unexpected!  It’s not your typical “green” salsa and that is what thrills me the most I think.  It gives you a little twist on the norm.

This salsa isn’t overly spicy hot but instead it has a nice background heat that builds the more you eat.  I wanted to do something different to bring spice to the table which is why I used the chipotle pepper instead of a fresh jalapeno or something along those lines.  The chipotle gives a lovely smoky heat and provides color to the salsa.

I love that with this salsa not only do you have the green but you can see little flecks of red and white throughout letting you know that some other things are going on to bring in flavor.  Scott and I really enjoyed this salsa!

I used a bunch of cilantro in this salsa because I love it so much but you can use however much you want.  And if you want to kick the heat up more, add in more chipotles!  It’s a very easy salsa to play around with.

It does not last long though.  While my Roasted Tomato Salsa, if stored in a glass tupperware container, will easily last you over a week, this green salsa only has about a three to four day shelf life.  For some reason the peppers don’t last nearly as long.  You shouldn’t have trouble with it going bad on you though! :)

Have fun guys and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

6 thoughts on “Roasted Green Salsa

  1. I’ve been meaning to try your roasted tomato salsa, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I love the smoky chipotle. They add a completely different flavor from other salsa ingredients. I’m having fun with salsa week!

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