The Hirshon Salsa Quemada – The “Burnt” Salsa

Ingredients

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• 5 ripe whole large red tomatoes that are perfect, without cuts or bruises
• 2 red jalapeno or fresno peppers
• ½ a small Chipotle chile from a can of Herdez Chipotles en Adobo
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from Herdez Chipotles en Adobo can
• 4 cloves of garlic with the skin still on, for roasting
• ½ white onion, chopped
• 1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tsp. salt, to taste
• ¼ teaspoon of freshly-ground cumin, whole seeds preferably roasted in a dry frying pan until fragrant, then ground
• ½ teaspoon Mexican Oregano, rubbed between the palms

Instructions

1. First and most important - make sure your kitchen is very well-ventilated, because the roasting from this recipe will produce some smoke!
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line the bottom of a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil and arrange the whole tomatoes, the onions, garlic and chilies in the pan; roast on all sides without adding anything more (dry-roast), until they are completely charred and soft. Take out the garlic around the 7 minute mark, then the chilis at 8 minutes and lastly the tomatoes at the 10 minute mark.
3. Peel the garlic, and clean the chili. Put everything in the bowl of your blender or food processor and blend, pulsing until the salsa is liquid and smooth. Check seasoning and adjust to your taste.
4. This delicious salsa will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Check and adjust seasoning before serving.