Elizabeth's Salsa

Submitted by eknecht

"This is pretty similar to the salsa served at Chevy's Fresh Mex restaurants- it has a great smoky flavor. I forget where I got the basic recipe, but I have tweaked it over the years to our tastes. I make it by the gallon and can it in the summer when the ingredients are the freshest, and sell some to various folks in our church and neighborhood- although those closest to us get it in quart jars as a gift at christmas! It helps to bring the pepper and tomatoes to room temperature before coating them with the olive oil, so they don't sweat as much. If your cloves of garlic are large, use just 1 clove, unless you like a LOT of garlic flavor!"

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 3 cups

ingredients

• 6 ripe tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• olive oil
• 1⁄2 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (mesquite flavor)
• 2 teaspoons salt

directions

1. Fire up your grill (charcoal or gas) to medium high.
2. Coat the tomatoes and jalepeno pepper with olive oil.
3. Place on the grill and let blacken, turning just once (about 15 minutes on each side).
4. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
5. When cool, carefully remove most of the outer blackened skin and the stems of the tomatoes and put into a food processor. Process (pulse) to desired consistency. Remove tomatoes and place in a large bowl.
6. Remove the stem from the jalepeno pepper. If you desire a mild salsa, remove the pepper seeds and inner membranes. For medium heat salsa keep half of the seeds, for spicy salsa use the entire pepper. Put the desired amount of jalepeno into the food processor, and add the remaining ingredients.
7. Process on high speed for about 1 minute, or until thoroughly mushed up. Add to tomatoes in the bowl.
8. Stir thoroughly, and refrigerate until ready to use or put into sterilized jars and process.
9. For variations: Roast bell pepper along with the tomatoes and jalepeno, put into a ziploc bag when removed from the grill and let col, then remove the skin and seeds and pulse with tomatoes in the processor. Cooked corn kernels can be added as well, along with rinsed and drained canned black beans. Roasted garlic (about 10 cloves) can be used in place of fresh garlic.

Reviews

[Chilicat]

I haven't had a chance to eat at Chevy's in over a decade, but I remember their salsa was absolutely to die for! For some reason I thought the recipe called for two jalapenos, so I grilled them both then added the seeds of only one (thinking I was making a nice, medium salsa!). By the time I realized my mistake it was too late. YOW! It turned out a lot spicier than I expected but it still tastes so smoky and sooo GOOD!! I processed for 20 minutes and got a little over 2 pints using 14 roma tomatoes. This will be my default salsa from now on!

 

[CharTrev]

Soo Soo yummy! My husband would eat an entire batch of this in one sitting...if I'd let him! Not too hot, lots of flavor & the smooth texture pleases even the picky eaters.