Waste Not Want Not
Not wanting to let anything go to waste if at all possible, I have canned most of the tomatoes. But now they are only ripening a few at a time so it’s hard to have a large amount at once to go through the effort of canning for only a couple of jars of something.
So this is when I start making use of the freezer.
I have this great cookbook called Pati’s Mexican Table that has some awesome recipes for salsa’s that are so easy to make that I’ve been using a couple of those recipes to use up tomatoes, poblano’s, and jalapeno’s from my garden.
While she doesn’t talk about freezing or canning these, I think they will freeze fine and be a great addition to any recipe that I decide needs a little extra kick in flavor.
2017 update: They do freeze very well. We absolutely love these 2 salsa recipes!
The first one adapted from Pati’s cookbook is called Charred Salsa.
This salsa is different than the one I can in that it is pureed to a smooth consistency where as the salsa I can I want to be full of big chunks.
I’ll give you the basic recipe amounts in case you’re just wanting enough to eat fresh, but I quadrupled this (and I did this twice) to freeze the extra to use this winter.
Charred Salsa:
- 1 pound tomatoes (washed)
- 1 large jalapeno pepper
- One 1/4 inch slice of white onion
- 1 unpeeled clove of garlic (I love garlic so I added a bit more)
- Kosher salt
Put all the ingredients except the salt on a baking sheet covered with a sheet of parchment paper and broil for about 10 – 15 minutes turning the veggies every few minutes till charred on all sides and till the onion and garlic are soft.
Seed the jalapeno (or don’t if you want more heat).
Peel the garlic and add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and puree. Salt to taste.
Yep! It’s really that simple. I have found it to be amazing on eggs for breakfast.
I froze it in 1 cup portions to add to recipes or use to top anything I would normally put taco sauce or salsa on.
Next up:
Chunky Poblano and Tomato Salsa
I actually took a few minutes to take photo’s of this process which I neglected in the previous recipe. Sorry about that.
This one is almost as easy as the Charred Salsa recipe but with a little different twist.
- 2 pound ripe tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion
- 2 large poblano chiles or about 11 ounces. (My poblano’s weren’t quite that big so I had to use more than 2) charred, sweated, peeled, stemmed, seeded and cut into 2 inch strips
- 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Put tomatoes, garlic, and bay leaves in a medium saucepan and cover with water. I’ll admit that I didn’t cover my tomatoes completely with water. I just added a little in the pan so they wouldn’t scorch. I also quickly seeded them although the recipe didn’t say that was necessary. I didn’t go crazy just cut them in half and swiped out most of the seeds.
Bring tomatoes, bay leaves, and garlic to a boil and reduce the heat and simmer till the tomatoes are soft (about 10 minutes). Remove the bay leaves.
I removed the tomatoes from the liquid with a slotted spoon and used my food processor to puree till smooth.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes.
Then add the poblanos and cook a couple minutes longer.
Add the tomato puree, marjoram, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat and cook until the salsa has thickened to the consistency you desire (about 10 minutes).
I also made multiple batches of this and froze it in ziplock bags for later use this winter.
This girl is makin’ some great stuff in her kitchen so you can check out her blog here for more great recipes!
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