Fire Roasted Restaurant-Style Salsa Recipe

Growing up, I was notorious for devouring cup after cup of salsa at the local Tex-Mex restaurant — so much so that I would distract my parents so I could take their salsa, too. To me, fire roasted restaurant-style salsa encapsulated everything delightful in this world: tangy flavor accompanied by a creeping warmth. 

Roasted restaurant-style salsa wasn’t what I cooked at home, though. That honor goes to its equally delicious cousin, salsa verde. But when I moved out of Texas — where chips and salsa are free and abundant — for college, I craved the salsa I ate at Tex-Mex joints that I no longer had access to. 

It took time to replicate that same smoky, spicy yet refreshing salsa. Here’s a fire roasted restaurant-style salsa that you can easily make at home (but be sure to open a window when charring the peppers!):

Fire Roasted Restaurant-Style Salsa

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: minutesCook time: minutesTotal time: minutesServings:4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes
• 2 jalapeños
• 1/2 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 bunch cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 
   

   In a skillet or nonstick pan, place freshly washed tomatoes, jalapeños, garlic cloves, and halved onion. Char until skins on tomatoes and jalapeños are blackened, approximately 10-15 minutes.

2. Once charred, slice the jalapeños in half and remove the seeds. (Or keep, if you prefer a spicier salsa!)

3. Toss the tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeños, and cilantro into a blender or food processor. Pulse until well-blended.

4. Finish with cumin, salt, and pepper.

    Enjoy!

This story was part of Brainfood 2021 for recipe development segment.

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• Brainfood