Roasted Green Medley Salsa

The most notable roadblock I face when creating a new post is correctly recreating the recipe.  When I'm making something new, it takes enough concentration for me to remember to photograph the process, let alone take notes. If I'm in a hurry to cook, which I usually am for no apparent reason, I'll find any piece of paper to jot down oven temperatures, ingredients, and proportions. I'm not the most organized person, and I might be the least. So I usually find myself writing on old receipts or envelopes.  I'm not sure if it's laziness or stubbornness. Probably both. Anyway, because I tend to post a recipe several days after making the dish, I often have to scour the kitchen looking for a piece of paper that might have some clue to the process. 

It may seem unnecessary to worry about a recipe for salsa, as salsa tends to be very forgiving.  And it's true, if you're using good, fresh ingredients, it's hard to go wrong. Still I wanted to make sure I got the oven temperature and cooking times correct. After much effort, I fortunately found the receipt/recipe for this salsa.  Heavy sigh of relief. 

I was able to buy the tomatillos, cilantro, and jalapeno from a friend's farm at the Missoula farmer's market.  The produce looked great, and I wanted to be sure to make something good with it all.  I find when all of these ingredients are in season at once, it's hard to resist making salsa. I love that I can just throw everything in a pan, roast it all, and out comes something heavenly that can quickly be blended into salsa. Many tomatillo salsa recipes have you broil and char the skins, but I like the flavors that come with a slower roasting.  However, I chose to leave the jalapeno and garlic out until the end so they'd add a kick of flavor. 

I also snagged some fallen green cherry tomatoes from a friend's garden and figured I'd throw them into the mix. If you've got some fallen green tomatoes in your garden, this is the perfect use for them. 

Roasted Green Medley Salsa

makes about 16 oz of salsa

If you store this in the fridge, you'll find that it thickens up quite a bit. Adding a little water, maybe a 1/4 cup, will prevent this. I just like to avoid adding the water if it's going to be eaten the day it's made.

about 12 tomatillos, husks removed and each cut in half

a few green cherry tomatoes or one small green tomato, cut in half (optional)

1 small onion or 1/2 of a medium, cut in large chunks

oil

salt and pepper

1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and quartered

3  - 4 cloves garlic, peeled

a very large handful of cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

1 - 2 Tbsp lime juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Throw the tomatillos, tomato, and onions in a large pan. Pour a big glug of oil over the vegetables and toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until juices have released and the skins are beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Once cool, throw the roasted mix along with the juices in a food processor or blender. Add the jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, and cumin. Pulse about 10 times, or until the salsa is almost smooth. Add lime juice and more salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips, or use as the sauce for enchiladas.