Salsas make me happy. Really good salsas with a kick make me really happy. This is one of those salsas that makes me really happy. Let it be known that our tastes for heat may differ from yours. Meaning: things with a slight kick are very palatable to me. But for some friends of mine it sets off a three-alarm fire in their mouth—as in people cursing my name for several days afterward.
Fire-roasting tomatoes adds such a great smoky dimension to salsas. When I first ate at a Baja Fresh restaurant in Los Angeles, I was mesmerized by their smoky salsa and how they made it. I never got the official recipe, but this is my spin on it.
6 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 small white onion, quartered
1 clove garlic
1 jalapeño, roughly chopped
¼ cup (8 g) cilantro
1 dried New Mexico, chipotle, or guajillo chili pepper, rehydrated
~ juice of 1 lime
- Preheat oven broiler.
- Place the tomatoes on a foil-lined sheet pan, and broil to char the skins 13–15 minutes, then flip and char the other side for another 5 minutes.
- Combine tomatoes with all other ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
Tips & Tricks—You can make this salsa a day or two ahead from when you plan on serving/eating it, though I’m going to bet you’ll want to eat it sooner rather than later. The flavors really do meld together after a day or two of being in the refrigerator.
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Fire-roasted salsa chars Roma tomatoes under a hot broiler until the skins blacken, then blends them with onion, garlic, jalapeno, and a rehydrated dried chili. That smoky depth is what plain raw salsa can never touch. Twenty minutes of broiling, five in the processor, and the kick is real.
Pro Tips
- Char the tomatoes skin-side up for the full 13-15 minutes - the blackened skins are the smoky flavor, not a mistake to trim away.
- Rehydrate the dried chili in hot water for 10 minutes before blending so it breaks down smoothly instead of leaving shards.
- Flip the tomatoes for the final 5 minutes so the second side chars evenly too.
- Heat tolerance differs from cook to cook - the dried chili already brings fire, so add jalapeño seeds only if your crowd can take it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How spicy is fire-roasted salsa?
It carries a real kick from the dried chili and jalapeño. Skip the jalapeño seeds for warmth without the burn.
Which dried chili should I use?
New Mexico, chipotle, or guajillo all work - chipotle is the smokiest and guajillo the mildest of the three.
Can I grill the tomatoes instead?
Yes - over high direct heat until the skins blister and blacken. The smoky character is the same.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven broiler.
- Place the tomatoes on a foil-lined sheet pan, and broil to char the skins 13–15 minutes, then flip and char the other side for another 5 minutes.
- Combine tomatoes with all other ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
