I had the opportunity to help some friends out recently by feeding their dog. Little did they know that I was paying myself from their garden. I stole every cherry tomato they had. Better me than the birds, right? I debated between trying my hand at marinara or canning some salsa. Salsa won, but it was a close race.
I’ve canned salsa before, but it has been several years. So I surveyed Facebook for ideas, then came up with this concoction. A few days before I’d made fresh salsa to go with my Venison Fajita Chimichangas, and it was good, but I wanted something a little different, a little thicker, for my canned salsa. When I make Enchiladas Verdes I roast my ingredients under the broiler. I decided to carry over that same concept for this tomato salsa.
You will need:
- Tomatoes
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1 Anaheim pepper
- 2 small Onion
- 1 bunch of Cilantro
- 1 Lime Juice
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cumin
Step 1 ~ 15 minutes
Line two cookie sheets with tin foil and add two trays worth of cherry tomatoes, or a combination of cherry tomatoes and large tomatoes. Add 1 jalapeno {seeds included, coarsely chopped or whole} and 1 Anaheim pepper {seeds in, whole}.
Place the trays under a low broiler for about 10 minutes. The tomatoes will start to burst, and the skins of the peppers will begin to char. Turn the peppers and shake the tomatoes to allow them to char a little on each side. Remove the trays from the oven and allow the ingredients to cool.
Step 2 ~ 5 minutes
Meanwhile, coarsely chop two small onions and one bunch cilantro.
Step 3 ~ 5 minutes
Once the roasted tomatoes and peppers are cooled, place them in a blender with the cilantro, onion, juice from one lime, 1 Tbsp salt and 2 tsp cumin. I also added about 1 tsp Ragin’ Blaze to my salsa. Why not? You will have a lot of liquid in the pans that cooked out of the tomatoes. I left this out, but you could add it to the salsa for a thinner consistency.
Set the blender to “chop” and coarsely chop the tomatoes and peppers.
Step 4 ~ 30 minutes
Prepare three pint size jars and lids. Boil the jars for at least 10 minutes in a large pot of water. Remove the jars and allow them to cool. Stir the salsa to be sure the cilantro is evenly distributed. Fill the jars within about ¾ to 1” from the rim. Wipe the rim of the jars and place lids and rings securely over the rims. Place the jars in the pot of water, return the pot to a boil, and boil for at least 10 minutes. If won’t hurt anything to go longer. Carefully remove the jars and allow to cool on the counter. Once cooled, check the lids to be sure they are secure. If the lids did not seal, repeat the boiling process, replacing the lids if necessary.
If you have any salsa that won’t fit in your jars, enjoy it within the next few days.
These measurements are made based on what I had available to me. You could easily increase or decrease the measurements based on what you have on hand. If you have a garden that is overflowing with tomatoes, I highly recommend this salsa recipe. It will make you happy*.
{*The Fine Print: Happiness is not a guaranteed side effect of the salsa. It is the responsibility of the salsa consumer to choose to be happy.}
I’d love to hear about your experiences with canning salsa. And check out the recipe for fresh salsa paired with Venison Fajita Chimichangas.
Roasted Salsa for Canning
Ingredients
- Tomatoes
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1 Anaheim pepper
- 2 small Onion
- 1 bunch of Cilantro
- 1 Lime Juice
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cumin
Instructions
- Line two cookie sheets with tin foil and add two trays worth of cherry tomatoes, or a combination of cherry tomatoes and large tomatoes. Add 1 jalapeno {seeds included, coarsely chopped or whole} and 1 Anaheim pepper {seeds in, whole}.
- Place the trays under a low broiler for about 10 minutes. The tomatoes will start to burst, and the skins of the peppers will begin to char. Turn the peppers and shake the tomatoes to allow them to char a little on each side. Remove the trays from the oven and allow the ingredients to cool.
- Meanwhile, coarsely chop two small onions and one bunch cilantro.
- Once the roasted tomatoes and peppers are cooled, place them in a blender with the cilantro, onion, juice from one lime, 1 Tbsp salt and 2 tsp cumin. I also added about 1 tsp Ragin’ Blaze to my salsa. Why not? You will have a lot of liquid in the pans that cooked out of the tomatoes. I left this out, but you could add it to the salsa for a thinner consistency.
- Set the blender to “chop” and coarsely chop the tomatoes and peppers.
- Prepare three pint size jars and lids. Boil the jars for at least 10 minutes in a large pot of water. Remove the jars and allow them to cool. Stir the salsa to be sure the cilantro is evenly distributed. Fill the jars within about ¾ to 1” from the rim. Wipe the rim of the jars and place lids and rings securely over the rims. Place the jars in the pot of water, return the pot to a boil, and boil for at least 10 minutes. If won’t hurt anything to go longer. Carefully remove the jars and allow to cool on the counter. Once cooled, check the lids to be sure they are secure. If the lids did not seal, repeat the boiling process, replacing the lids if necessary.
