Fourth of July Roasted Tomato Salsa

I've been sitting on this salsa recipe for over six months now, waiting (and waiting) for tomato season. I waited through citrus season, asparagus season, and a good chunk of the stone fruits. Every few weeks I'd flip through my pocket-sized notebook and there it was, a messy scribble of black pen spanning three-quarters of a single page. The black letters were there to remind me of the deliciously vibrant, earthy, and slightly smoky-tasting salsa I jotted down while visiting friends in New Zealand. It is a salsa richly red in hue, accented with tiny flecks of green cilantro - a salsa recipe I will refer to many times...

Let me back up a bit, it was just the start of New Zealand's warm season, and we were lucky enough to be staying with our good friends Hadley and Philip. Hadley is an A+ cook and I love sharing the kitchen with her - unfortunately it is an all too rare occurrence because instead of a manageable San Francisco Bay separating us, there is now the much larger Pacific Ocean to contend with. Hadley and Philip rolled out the welcome mat for us and that night was the first time the four of us had shared a table in five years. We stayed with in Wellington for a week, and Hadley made this salsa for us one evening. My notes might have suffered a bit from the amount of New Zealand wine consumed, but I believe this is quite close to Hadley's version.

Why this salsa? If you are used to making or buying salsa fresca, great. I love salsa fresca and make it regularly. This salsa is an entirely different beast - the deep, caramelized flavors of the roasted tomatoes and onions alongside the smokiness of the chipotle(s) makes for a richly beautiful and balanced salsa. The other thing I love is the texture. This salsa has a rustic, hearty texture which comes from pureeing a portion of the ingredients toward the beginning of the process, and then hand-chopping the majority of the roasted tomatoes and onions.

Not just for chips, this is the perfect salsa recipe for use on tacos, eggs, quesadillas, kabobs.....a perfect addition of a Fourth of July spread. Other ideas? Give a shout in the comments.