This salsa rocks! If you’ve never made fresh salsa before, I highly encourage you to make a batch of it. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to whip up and how delicious it is! Of course, starting with top quality ingredients (vine-ripened tomatoes) is key to a good salsa, while dry roasting the veggies in a pan is super simple and only takes a few minutes. Husband thinks I should make this recipe on a regular basis…I couldn’t agree more!

Don’t forget to season the finished salsa with salt (bland salsa just won’t do). Enjoy!

Salsa Quemada (Roasted Tomato Salsa)
-recipe from Epicurious.com | April 2010
Reprinted with permission from Amor y Tacos: Modern Mexican Tacos, Margaritas, and Antojitos by Deborah Schneider

A very useful salsa that is easy to make and keeps well. Firm, fresh Roma tomatoes are dry-roasted until soft and well charred on all sides (quemada literally means “burnt”), then pureed into a smooth salsa with sweet toasted garlic, fresh cilantro, and onion. Salsa quemada clings to the dryer and chunkier taco fillings, adding moisture and great flavor. It is also a classic table salsa, perfect to serve with tostadas and totopos.

Makes 2 1/2 cups

5 large Roma tomatoes, whole, not cored or cut in any way
1 serrano or jalapeño chile
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1/4 cup minced white onion
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 bunch cilantro

Make sure your kitchen is well ventilated. Put a piece of aluminum foil in a heavy sauté pan (preferably cast iron) and set it over medium-high heat. Place the whole tomatoes, chile, and garlic cloves in the pan and dry-roast them on all sides until well charred and soft. The garlic and chiles will be done quickly; the tomatoes may take 10 minutes or longer to cook.

Peel the garlic and stem the chile. Place the tomatoes, garlic, and chile in a food processor with the onion, salt, and cilantro. Pulse until the salsa is smooth and taste for seasoning. The salsa will keep, refrigerated, for several days. Reseason before use.

Tags: Amor y Tacos, cilantro, Deborah Schneider, garlic, homemade salsa, jalepeno, Mexican, roasted tomato salsa, salsa, salsa quemada, serrano, tomatoes

Since my folks are galavanting around London right now on holiday and enjoying the delicious Indian food that the city has to offer, I thought I’d make my own Indian food in honor of their trip. This recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, noted as being Britain’s new national dish, is a great way to recreate this British favorite at home. Chunks of chicken are marinated in yogurt and spices, broiled in the oven then quickly simmered in a fragrant sauce of tomatoes, spices and cream. If you like Indian food, you’re going to love this recipe!

While at Whole Foods recently, I found organic bulk spices so I bought small quantities of several of the spices needed for this recipe. Usually I just buy spices in jars but these bulk spices were so fragrant that I couldn’t pass them up. The fresher spices made a huge difference in the overall dish!

For the spice paste, I only used 6 drops of red food coloring instead of 1 teaspoon. If you don’t want to use it at all, the dish will still be great…just not as red.

To make the sauce, the recipe calls for cumin and coriander seeds but I substituted ground cumin and coriander instead. I also skipped the step of straining the pureed tomatoes through a sieve. Even with the changes, the sauce was silky and delicious! Serve with steamed basmati rice and enjoy the excellent meal you’ve just created.

For other recipe ideas, check out Foodie Friday.

Chicken Tikka Masala
-recipe from Saveur.com

Serves 6.

1 tbsp. ground turmeric
4 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. red food coloring (optional)
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1  2 1⁄2″ piece ginger, peeled and chopped, plus julienned strips for garnish
1 jalapeño, stemmed and chopped
1  28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1⁄2″ cubes
1⁄4 cup Greek yogurt, such as Fage
Kosher salt, to taste
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1⁄2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. paprika
2 small yellow onions, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Cooked basmati rice, for serving

In a blender, purée turmeric, 2 tsp. garam masala, coloring, garlic, ginger, jalapeños, and 1⁄2 cup water. Put paste into a bowl. In the same blender, purée tomatoes and strain through a sieve. In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp. paste, chicken, yogurt, and salt; marinate for 30 minutes. Place oven rack 4″ from heating element; heat to broil. Transfer chicken to a foil-lined sheet tray; broil until cooked, 5–6 minutes; set aside.

Heat butter in 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add coriander and cumin; toast 4–6 minutes. Add paprika and onions; cook until soft, 6–8 minutes. Add remaining paste; brown for 5–6 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in cream and 1 cup water; boil. Reduce heat; simmer until thickened, 6–8 minutes. Stir in remaining masala and chicken; season with salt. Serve with garnishes and rice.

Tags: chicken tikka masala, coriander, cream, cumin, garam masala, garlic, ginger, jalepeno, tomato, turmeric, yogurt