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Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe.

Servings: 6 large tomatoes will make about 3 cups of salsa. You can freeze leftovers in small containers and take them out in the middle of winter. The roasting of the tomatoes and the use of chipotle peppers makes for a deeper flavor and a bit of smokiness to the end product.

Ingredients:

• 6 large, ripe tomatoes or a variety of smaller ones.
• 1 medium onion cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup of cilantro leaves
• 2 garlic cloves minced or crushed
• 2 small chipotle peppers from the can (in adobo sauce). Pour in a tsp or two of sauce.
• 2 tsp of ground cumin

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. If convection oven you can use 375 degrees.

Get out your broiler pan. Cut tomatoes in halves or quarter for the really large ones. Spray your pan with olive oil spray and place the tomatoes, skin-side up on the rack over the pan. Place in the oven and roast until the skins are all wrinkly and some of the surfaces have turned light brown. Even darker brown is good. This will take about 20 – 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them toward the end. Take out to cool so it’s safer when blending.

In a food processor add the onion chunks, cilantro, garlic, chipotle peppers, and cumin. Whiz just to break it up into chunks. I don’t want liquefied salsa. I want some substance to it. Add the tomatoes and whiz just to break them up and get the consistency of salsa you like.

This salsa will have a kick to it but the kick will be more subtle and come later. If you want a forward kick to your salsa, add chili powder or hot sauce as you choose. By having the kick more subtle it lends itself better to be used as a sauce on grilled foods.

Serve this salsa over a grilled chicken, grilled fish or even your favorite meat. You can also, of course, serve it with chips (Z3) or Melba Rounds (Z2). Just be sure to serve yourself a portion and double dip as appropriate to keep the carbs down.

Enjoy!

Cheers,