August bleeding into September is the perfect time to heat up this easy fire roasted salsa recipe. The tomatoes are ripe on the vine and jalapenos are nice and hot from all of that summer sun, which gives the perfect blend of flavor in this delicious dip. Simple to make, we love tossing this on the table for a labor day party, football Sunday, or any of the many other fall events headed our way.
“Fire roasted” can sometimes sound intimidating, but it’s not. It’s as easy as putting a little bit of char on your vegetables to bring out the flavor and add just a touch of smoke. Adding that touch to the mix of these fresh ingredients will make you question ever picking up a jar of store bought salsa again, so let’s get going!
Contents
What am I going to need?
Your ingredient list is a quick tour through the produce section (or garden, depending on what you’re growing). You’ll need tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, yellow onion, cilantro, and a lime. Yep! That simple! That’s it! The only additional flavors will be a little bit of olive oil and a couple teaspoons of kosher salt.
As with all of our recipes, you can substitute and play a little bit. We like Roma tomatoes for this but any vine tomato will work great. If yellow onions aren’t available or to your taste, you can substitute white or red. Red will give you a little sweeter taste to your salsa.
Making the Fire Roasted Salsa
Ok, here comes the easy part. Fire up your grill to medium, about 400-450 degrees. Clean and oil the grill grates.
Drizzle olive oil over your tomatoes, onion, garlic, and jalapeno and sprinkle with half of the kosher salt. No need to go crazy on the oil, just drizzle over with a light touch.
Once your grill is warmed up and ready, place your oiled vegetables on the direct heat. The garlic and jalapeno only need to be on the heat for 1-2 minutes. Leave the onion and tomato on for 2-3 minutes per side. There should be a slight char on the vegetables, but not a full burn.
Once done, take the vegetables off of the grill and set aside to cool. When cooled, cut the vegetables into chunks that will fit into your food processor or blender.
Now, give a slight chop to your cilantro, put your vegetables and cilantro into your food processor along with your lime juice and a teaspoon of salt, and pulse the processor until salsa is at desired consistency.
Give it a taste to see if you want to add a little more lime juice or salt, and that’s it! You’re done! That simple!
It will taste great at this point, but cover and put it in the fridge for at least an hour or as long as overnight and taste again. You will get the full blend of flavors mixing all together at this point and it’s positively scrumptious!
Why we love Tomatoes for a Multiple Sclerosis Diet
Because salsa is often served on the appetizer table along with tasty treats that might not be so healthy, it might be cast aside as a simple snack, but it’s a healthy treat that’s so good for you! Look back at that ingredient list – fresh produce – the entire snack is a delicious blend of fresh produce.
With tomatoes being the base for this, we want to explore some of the health benefits of the tomato on the MS diet. First and foremost, tomatoes are loaded with antioxidants, which are crucial in helping our bodies fight inflammation. A key component in helping bodies fight the effects of MS naturally is a healthy diet that increases anti oxidants and decreases inflammation, so yes, we love the tomato for this.
On top of this, tomatoes are one of the most abundant fruits out there in which you can obtain lycopene. Lycopene has remarkable benefits in fighting certain cancers, particularly skin and prostate, and improving heart health. It’s also a major anti-oxidant. Taking care of multiple sclerosis means taking care of our overall health, so the overall health benefits of the tomato are a wonderful added bonus to the fire roasted salsa.
Let’s Get Roasting!
All right, you’ve got your ingredients, you’ve got your steps, you know you’re eating healthy, so let’s get started with your fire roasted salsa!!!!
Please visit our Resources page if you are interested in finding some of the tools and gadgets Dre uses to make cooking accessible while combatting MS.
Easy Fire Roasted Salsa Recipe
Description
This delicious and simple roasted salsa recipe comes together in only 15 minutes and is a flavor packed, healthy punch to any snack or dinner table.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat the grill to medium high heat. 400-450 degrees.
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Drizzle olive oil over the onions, tomatoes, garlic and jalapeño and season with a teaspoon of the salt.
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Clean and oil the grill grates and place the oiled veggies over direct heat. The garlic and jalapeño will finish quickly and you can remove them after 1 to 3 minutes. Char slightly. The tomatoes and onion will take longer, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.
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Remove the vegetables from the grill and set aside to cool. Once cooled, cut into pieces that will fit into your food processor or blender. Removing the seeds from the jalapeño will yield a less spicy salsa.
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Add the veggies to your food processor or blender along with the cilantro lime juice and remaining salt. Pulse the mixture until you get the desired consistency. Taste the salsa and add salt and/or lime juice to taste. Best if allowed to chill and the flavors allowed to combine for an hour to overnight. Serve with your favorite chips!
