Turn Sad Winter Tomatoes Into Delicious Fried Salsa
At least once a year, desperate for the slightest glimpse of spring, I buy my first crop of tomatoes from the supermarket, which looks even remotely ripe. They never cause anything but complete disappointment, which means I end up regretting my purchase – and resenting these low-quality tomatoes for sucking me in.
Fortunately, even soft, watery tomatoes find use. I firmly believe that the only reason you should charcoal, cook, or otherwise heat ripe tomatoes is to preserve a bumper crop, but shitty winter tomatoes are a different matter entirely. The warmth brings out the best in soft tomatoes : frying, frying or grilling triggers the Maillard reaction, which intensifies the flavor, but it also evaporates some of the liquid, concentrating the paltry taste that they already have. In addition, the too hard, cardboard texture of unripe winter tomatoes can withstand high temperatures rather than instantly turning into a pile of hot tomato gruel. For these reasons, I believe the highest calling of mediocre winter tomatoes is smoky fried salsa.
Unlike pico de gallo, which really needs the intensity of high season tomatoes to get great flavor, cooked salsa enhances the flavor by roasting or charring the ingredients before mashing them with other seasonings. To do this is very simple: Thoroughly black the tomatoes, peppers and onions under a brazier – or on the grill, if you have one, lucky duck – rub them roughly and “fry” the mixture in a skillet with hot oil. … After a quick boil and a bit of seasoning, you have a thick, juicy salsa ready for any application you can dream of.
The prepared salsas are not only very simple, but also easy to customize according to your preferences. Literally any combination of any kind of chili – fresh, dried, or all of them – will work, and the proportions are very forgiving. Depending on your tolerance for spices, you can increase or decrease the ratio of tomatoes to fresh chili to achieve the desired result. Best of all, the salsa is already cooked, so there is no need to soak the dried chili peppers: just toast them and toss them. Between the heat from the charred vegetables, the roasting process, and the long storage in the refrigerator, they just rehydrate.
If the winter blues hit you too, then a crisp summer snack that doesn’t require any summer ingredients is the way to go. Make a batch of salsa and park in front of the sunniest window with a bag of chips, cold beer or margaritas – spring may seem far away, but don’t suffer for now.
Roasted Winter Tomato Salsa
The chili pepper I used here makes a fragrant but rather mild salsa. I chose serranos for their warmth and fresh herbal flavor, and guajillo for the sweet fruitiness that cannot be expected from tomatoes at this time of year. To make the salsa spicier, increase the amount of fresh or dried chili, or simply use spicier varieties – fruity, fiery habanero make delicious fried salsa and I think they would be fantastic here.
Ingredients:
- 1 large white onion
- Juice of 2 limes, plus more to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil or neutral vegetable oil
- 1.5 pounds of disappointing March tomatoes of any variety (I used plums)
- 1 or more large fresh hot chili peppers of any variety (I used serrano)
- 4 or more large, soft, dried chillis of any variety (I used guajillo)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
- Adobo seasoning to taste (optional)
Instructions:
Quarter and peel the onion. Finely chop one of the quarters. Transfer the chopped onion to a small bowl, add the juice of 2 limes and season with salt to taste – 1/2 teaspoon table salt was just fine. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Heat the broiler to high-heat and add two tablespoons of oil to the baking sheet. Cut each of the remaining quarters in half lengthwise again so that you have six roughly the same size wedges. Trim remaining roots and place onion wedges in an oiled baking sheet. Cut the tomatoes and chili in half along the stem, then add them to the skillet. Stir the vegetables with your hands so that they lightly grease them with the cut side down.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 10-30 minutes, depending on the strength of the frypot. The goal is to completely blacken the bare skin of the tomato and pepper and develop beautiful charred onions; check them often to gauge their progress. When they’re done, gently transfer the vegetables to an ovenproof bowl and pour a quarter cup of water into the saucepan to remove the frosting. Scrape off the browned pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon, pour the frosting liquid into the bowl of vegetables and set aside to cool.
While the vegetables are resting, use your kitchen scissors to cut the ends of the dried chili and cut along the long side. Remove and discard seeds and ribs: I love to shake the seeds into a bowl and scrub the ribs with my fingertips. Heat a dry 12-inch skillet over medium to low heat, then gently saute the dried chili peppers until soft and flavorful, no more than 30 seconds on each side. Slight blackening is normal, but don’t let them burn or catch fire; burnt dried chili peppers are unpleasantly bitter. Immediately stir the toasted chili in a bowl with the other vegetables, which should still be warm, and blend to the desired smoothness using a hand blender.
Finally, wipe out the skillet you used to toast the chili, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and heat over medium to high heat. When the oil gets hot and almost smokes, pour in all the mashed vegetables; it will spit and splatter, so be careful. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes, until butter emulsifies and salsa thickens. Transfer to a clean storage container.
Add the pickled onions and cilantro while the salsa is still warm, then change the seasoning as needed with salt, adobo, and / or lime juice. (Adobe is optional, but I highly recommend it – it adds addictive garlic and monosodium glutamate.) Cover with plastic and refrigerate until completely cooled.
Serve with taco chips for a complete set menu that’s best eaten from the comfort of your couch, but there are plenty of other ways to eat homemade salsa if you feel like it. Use it as a base for chili peppers or other stews, fold into quesadillas and tacos, place on top of nachos, or – my personal favorite – serve with crispy fried eggs, black beans and tortillas for a stunning plate of huevos rancheros.