Cherry tomatoes have a way of going from a handful on the counter to more than I know what to do with. When I have 14 cups waiting to be used, I turn the whole pile into a batch of roasted tomato salsa.
Instead of blending the tomatoes raw, I roast them with jalapeños, red onion, garlic, and green bell peppers first. The heat wrinkles the tomato skins and browns parts of the vegetables before everything goes into the blender with cilantro and spices.
I Start With 14 Cups of Cherry Tomatoes
This recipe uses 14 cups of whole cherry tomatoes, so it can clear a substantial amount of produce at once. I wash them and remove the stems, but there is no need to peel or chop every tomato.
I add four jalapeños, one quartered red onion, four garlic cloves, and two quartered green bell peppers. I seed the jalapeños for a milder batch, though the amount can be adjusted depending on how much heat I want.
Roasting Comes Before Blending
I spread the tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic across a lined baking sheet and roast them at 400°F for 12 to 15 minutes.
I'm looking for wrinkled tomato skins and some browning across the vegetables. The tomatoes begin releasing their juices while the peppers, onion, and garlic soften.
This extra step separates the salsa from one made by putting raw vegetables straight into a blender. Those browned areas bring a roasted flavor into the finished batch.
Everything Goes Into the Blender
The roasted vegetables go into a blender or food processor with 12 ounces of tomato paste, 1 cup of bottled lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
I also add 1 cup of fresh cilantro, including the tender stems, plus 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and ground coriander and 2 teaspoons of dried oregano.
I can stop blending while pieces of tomato and pepper are still visible or keep going for a smoother salsa. The batch shown here keeps some texture rather than becoming a completely uniform tomato sauce.
Tomato Paste Helps Turn the Roasted Tomatoes Into a Thick Salsa
Fourteen cups of cherry tomatoes release plenty of liquid, so blending isn't the final step. Tomato paste gives the mixture more body, and simmering concentrates it further.
I transfer the blended salsa to a large saucepan, bring it to a boil over medium heat, and stir often. Once boiling, I reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
By the end, the mixture is thicker while still retaining the small pieces of roasted vegetables and cilantro that I want in a scoopable salsa.
I Keep Extra Salsa in the Refrigerator or Freezer
Once the salsa has cooled, I can divide it between containers rather than trying to finish 14 cups of tomatoes' worth at once.
I keep the portion I'm using in the refrigerator and freeze extra salsa for longer storage. Frozen salsa can lose some of its fresh texture after thawing, but that matters less here because the tomatoes and other vegetables have already been roasted, blended, and simmered.
The finished salsa works with tortilla chips, tacos, burrito bowls, eggs, grilled meats, or anywhere I would normally reach for a jar of tomato salsa.
Most important, a counter crowded with cherry tomatoes gets reduced to something I can use long after I would have managed to eat all those tomatoes one at a time.
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