Grilled Red Pepper Salsa

Grilled Red Pepper Salsa from The Meaning of Pie
http://www.themeaningofpie.com/2012/05/grilled-red-pepper-salsa/#more-5546

You can do this on a grill or over a gas burner with a grill basket. I did the latter. I also spread a sheet of aluminum foil around the burner to catch any drips. It is not strictly necessary, but it helps with the clean up. It had never really occurred to me to use this grill pan indoors. I may be ruining it. But I got tired of my peppers dropping off of the grates of my stove top. When I multi-task inappropriately in the kitchen, I like for my burning vegetables to burn evenly and not drop into the flame.

You really need to let the pan cool down after using it or use mitts. I’m not sure but I’m guessing the makers of these weren’t envisioning them being used on a stove top, but who knows?

The idea here is to char the vegetables as you cook them and then toss them all together in the food processor, char and all. Let them cool a bit before doing so, though.There will be little flecks of black in the salsa, but that is entirely the point. It gives the salsa an interesting depth. By the way, if you do not like red bell peppers, this is not a good substitute for regular salsa…because it tastes curiously like red bell peppers…since it is full of red bell peppers.

I also think this would be awesome with the addition of some grilled and stripped corn.

Preparation:
3 roma tomatoes, halved
½ medium onion, sliced thickly, rings held together with a toothpick
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into thick flat strips
2 serrano peppers, halved and seeded
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ lime juiced

Grill the tomatoes for approximately 4 minutes per side, or until they have nice black marks but have not turned into mush. Grill the peppers, onions and garlic for about 7 or 8 minutes per side or until they are charred and slightly softened.

Remove the vegetables to a bowl as they are finished. When all of the vegetables have been cooked, allow them to cool in the bowl for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a food processor. Process the vegetables until they are uniformly processed but still slightly chunky.

Stir in the lime juice and the salt and then taste to determine whether you would like more seasoning. The lime juice and salt seem like an afterthought but they are critical to the balanced flavor of the salsa.

Serve with chips. Serve on eggs. Eat straight from the bowl with a spoon. Note: I have been getting some very hot serrano peppers this year. It would behoove you to take a little taste and determine the number of peppers you want accordingly. You may also substitute jalapenos for the serranos.