Roasted Tomato Salsa + Baked Tortilla Chips
In this roasted tomato salsa, charred vegetables are blended to make for an excellent salsa! Try making your own tortilla chips from scratch! Delicious!
Snacks.
Probably my favorite meal of the day. Even though I say that about every meal… I really mean it about snacks. Cheese and crackers, apples and peanut butter and chips and salsa. Amen.
My girls get home from school about an hour apart from each other but they both ask the same question when they walk in the door. Did you make anything today? Those little buggers are always hoping I made cookies or something chocolaty. Really I can’t blame them. I remember as a kid waking up on the weekend, running down the stairs and wishing for doughnuts to be on the table.
So although chips and salsa isn’t quite equal to a plate of cookies. They were just as excited, until they realized I had to finish taking pictures. They hovered like vultures waiting for me to say ‘okay, go for it’ and then they swooped in.
I was at Costco over the weekend and found a beautiful container of Roma tomatoes and instantaneously I knew I was going to make a roasted tomato salsa. This was a spur of the moment recipe and I kinda flew into this blind. I didn’t want evvvverything to get roasted because I worried it would taste too cooked, ya know?
But these beauts are getting roasted.
I dug through my mess of a kitchen utensil drawer and found my melon-baller.
After I dusted it off, I cored out the tomatoes and cut them in half.
Trim off the top and root end of the red onion and cut into to quarters.
I decided to keep three cloves raw and roast 3 cloves with the tomatoes. Again, just wanted some freshy-freshness going on in this salsa.
To me, perfect spice is half a jalapeno. I also remove the seeds. But go on use the whole thing, use a habenero… whatevs!
Onto an aluminum sheet pan, lay the tomato halves and jalapeno skin-side-up, throw on half of the garlic cloves and all of the red onion quarters. Drizzle ALL of it with olive oil and slip the tray into your oven that has the broiler on. Crack the door and keep an eye on it. Once the skin starts to crinkle up and blister and char, you’re good to go. It should take 5-8 minutes.
Remove the blistered veggies and let them cool a smidgen before handling.
Once the garlic has cooled, carefully remove the clove from their papery jacket.
Into a food processor add; 1/2 of a white onion {fresh}, 3 fresh {peeled} garlic cloves, the roasted garlic, the jalapeno… and yes with the skin on.
Secure that processor lid and pulse a few times.
Then throw in the charred tomatoes… skin on. That char will add some major flavor.
Pulse a few times, scrape down the sides of the processor bowl…
Toss in the fresh cilantro. Now I lurve cilantro so I added a big fist of it… or two. 🙂
Pulse again just to get the cilantro mixed in.
Transfer to a bowl and measure in a teaspoon of cumin. I used toast cumin that I *ahem* grounded myself. 😉
Next add a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
Then squeeze in the lime.
Finally cover and refrigerate the roasted tomato salsa for 2 hours to overnight for the flavors to meld and for it to get salsafied.
What? it’s a word.
If you’re down with making your own chips… I’ve included the recipe in the printable. Baking your own chips isn’t perfect every time, but even the chewy-er ones are delicious. Promise.
So get your snack on!
Enjoy!
My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!
Roasted Tomato Salsa + Homemade Baked Tortillas
Charred vegetables make for an excellent salsa!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5-8 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes {60 minutes including making homemade chips}
Ingredients:
ROASTED TOMATO SALSA:
10 Roma Tomatoes, cored and halved
1 small Red Onion, trimmed and quartered
1/2 small White Onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves Garlic, divided
1/2 a Jalapeno
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 cup of Fresh Cilantro, more or less to taste
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
HOMEMADE BAKED TORTILLA CHIPS:
15 Corn Tortilla Shells, quartered {I use a pizza cutter!}
Olive Oil Spray {I use my mister}
Kosher Salt
Cotija Cheese {optional}
Directions:
Preheat your broiler to high.
Core, halve and lay the tomatoes skin-side-up onto an aluminum sheet pan along with the quartered red onion, and half of the garlic and the jalapeno.
Drizzle with the olive oil and broil for 5-8 minutes or until the vegetables blister, and get a dark char to them. Keep the oven door cracked and keep a good eye on them.
Remove and let cool until safe to handle. Then peel the garlic and trim the stem off of the jalapeno, removing the seeds and ribs if you want {but keeping the blistered skin on} and add them to the food processor along with charred red onion, raw white onion, remaining raw garlic and pulse to coarsely chop.
Add in the tomatoes {skin and all} and pulse a few times to crush up those maters.
Add in the cilantro and pulse until they are throughout the salsa.
Now pour it into a bowl that has a lid, add in the teaspoon of cumin, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Stir to combine, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. The flavors need time to gel, trust me.
HOMEMADE BAKED TORTILLA CHIPS:
On a rimmed sheet pan lay out 15-20 corn tortilla wedges. Space them around the pan so they are not touching. Spray with the olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and cotija cheese {totally optional}.
Bake the tortillas in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until crispy.
Remove and let them cool before snacking {and repeating with the next batch of chips}.
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Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
I love how this is a mix of fresh and caramelized roasted flavor! I might even choose it over chocolate or cookies!
Laurie McNamara replied: — February 27th, 2014 @ 11:08 pm
I’d have to agree with you Joanne!
Looks so good Laurie! I’ve never thought to roast the tomatoes to make a salsa–but it makes so much sense. I would be THRILLED to eat this as a snack after school (more so than cookies, I think?) Your girls are so lucky!
Laurie McNamara replied: — February 27th, 2014 @ 11:08 pm
Thanks Laura! 🙂
I’m with your girls. I would be standing over your shoulder until this salsa was ready to devour. I could make a meal off of salsa. This looks amazing. I love that you roasted the tomatoes and other salsa essentials.
Haha….my kids always say the same thing “did you cook something today?”. The are always starved after school! I love that you roasted the tomatoes – beautiful salsa. Pinned:)
Laurie McNamara replied: — February 27th, 2014 @ 11:25 pm
Thanks Liz!
Wonderful summery recipe, Laurie! The zesty salsa and crisp tortilla chips are totally calling my name!
Oh my goodness gracious, lady! This looks amazing! I adore chips and salsa but not nearly as much as my husband. He would totally swoon over that bowl!
I will definitely try this salsa out! Mmm! BTW, where did you get that awesomely huge 2-liter measuring bowl with lid?
Laurie McNamara replied: — February 27th, 2014 @ 11:26 pm
Great! It’s from Pampered Chef 🙂
I made this gorgeous salsa yesterday. Let me tell you, it is good. The roasted veggies really kick it up a notch. Thanks, Laurie!
Hi,
This salsa is amazing! How long will it keep?
Laurie McNamara replied: — March 12th, 2014 @ 12:23 pm
At least a week I would think… We ate it all within a week so I’m not absolutely positive 🙂
I’m sure your recipes are wonderful and I’d love to try them, but after waiting 5 minutes for your site to load and all of the interference from ads that I’m getting even while trying to type this comment, I will not be visiting your site again.
Laurie McNamara replied: — July 22nd, 2016 @ 9:51 am
I’m sorry you experienced that! Saturday and Sunday are super high traffic days to my blog, people planning their weekly menus, which is most likely why it was loading slow. I hope you have a great weekend Laura 🙂