I found myself this week with a colorful, waning remainder of summer—a pile of peppers and tomatoes. My focus had moved on to winter squash and apples—fall friends—and I had left these guys to wrinkle and wither a bit in the crisper drawer.

Into the roasting pan they went (my default way to salvage sub-par produce), and with a quick whir of the food processor, we had salsa for days.

Roasted Salsa

1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, whole
2-3 hot peppers (jalapenos or similar)
1/2 pound sweet peppers
3-4 garlic cloves
1 onion
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of one lime
teaspoon of salt

Preheat broiler. Trim stems and scoop out seeds of sweet peppers. Trim stems of hot peppers, and if you don’t like things too spicy, remove seeds and ribs as well. Peel and slice onion. Place tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic in a roasting pan (I use a large cast iron skillet). Place vegetables about four inches from the broiler and roast, checking and turning vegetables occasionally with tongs. The roasting process can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your vegetables, your oven, and the pan you use. Tomatoes and peppers should be soft, wrinkled and blackened in spots. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Place your roasted vegetables in the bowl of a food processor (pull the stems from the tomatoes first) and pulse until uniform. Add cilantro, salt and lime juice and pulse a few more times. Taste and adjust seasoning to suit.

—SCB

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