Oven Roasted Salsa

I had a lot of garden tomatoes I needed to use up recently and salsa is one of the best ways to do it. This salsa is extra special and super easy. It looks and tastes complicated, but it's not. You seriously just place the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños and garlic under the broiler and voila, they're roasted! Then you combine the veggies with several spices in a food processor or blender and you have some delicious salsa. The recipe calls for roma tomatoes, but you can use any tomatoes you have on hand. Preferably some that are very ripe!

Oven Roasted Salsa

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

2 lbs. roma or any type of tomatoes, halved lengthwise

6 peeled garlic cloves

1 large white onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds

1 large jalapeño, cored and halved

1 large handful fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

salt and black pepper to taste

1. Preheat broiler to high. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with cooking spray.

2. Arrange the tomatoes (skin side up), garlic cloves, onion and jalapeño (skin side up) in an even layer on the baking sheet. Broil for 6-8 minutes, or until the tomatoes and jalapeños have blistered and blackened on top.

3. Remove pan from the oven and transfer the tomatoes, garlic, onion and jalapeño to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Place the bowl in the fridge and let cool at least 30 minutes.

4. Add the cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, kosher salt, sugar, red pepper flakes and cumin into the bowl. Puree until the salsa is smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve immediately or refrigerate until completely cooled. (The salsa has more flavor the longer it sits so I recommend keeping it in the fridge overnight before serving.)

*Store in a sealed airtight container for up to a week.