Salsa Lessons pt 5: Sunset Salsa

ending in the spiciest way

Beautiful Broiler Roomies, we’ve arrived at our very last edition of our Salsa Lessons series and we’re going out with a fucking bang. This taqueria classic is a 🔥heater🔥 and couldn’t be easier to make. If there’s someone in your house who needs to boost their confidence in the kitchen, making this or any of the salsas from this series is a great place to start. They're basically foolproof and will help them build the skills and confidence they need to try out more complicated recipes. Plus you get salsa. A classic win win.

This recipe makes enough for a crowd and is way cheaper than trying to buy a similar style salsa at the store. If you don’t like things spicy, cut the peppers by up to half and add an extra tomato or tomatillo to the mix. The dried chile de arbol will be in a clear bag near the spices or on a wall of dried peppers if you’re at a market that’s focused on Latin foods. They are spicy as fuck so if you aren’t sure about your tolernace start with just a little in this salsa and work your way up. If you can’t find tomatillos where you live (our sympathies btw) you can always use tomatoes in their place. It’ll change the look of the end salsa but will still be delicious as fuck. We love this salsa in burritos, over tacos, as a dip for roasted peewee potatoes or chips, in a tofu scramble, and stirred into a pot of beans. Basically, it’s good on fucking everything. We know you’ll love it too. 

Sunset Salsa

Makes about 3 cups

4 roma or similar style tomatoes

3 tomatillos, husks removed

¼ white onion

2 cloves of garlic, skin on

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼-½ cup dried chile de arbol, stems removed 

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup water

Juice of half a lime

Warm up a large skillet or fry pan over a medium high heat. Add the tomatillos and tomatoes, whole, in one layer. You want them to char on all sides so turn them after a couple minutes so all sides(or as many as you can make happen) get contact with the pan. You’re basically just burning this shit so it’s not hard, we swear. When everything looks about halfway there, add the onion. In the last two minutes of cooking, add the garlic cloves with the skin still on and lightly char with the rest of the pot. This charing intensifies the flavors of all the ingredients so It might seem like a weird extra step but it’s crucial. This whole process should take about 10 minutes.

this is the kind of char you want on as many sides as possiible

Once everything looks nice and charred, turn off the heat. Peel the skin from the garlic then throw everything in a blender. We’re pureeing this shit so no need to prechop. 

Back in that empty skillet, warm it up over medium high heat then add the oil. Once everything is nice and warm, add the dried chiles. Toast these spicy motherfuckers for about a minute and a half, stirring constantly. This is just like toasting nuts; they’ll go from toasted to burned in no time so watch that shit. Once they’ve got some nice toasted parts, turn off the heat and add them to the blender with the salt, water, and lime juice. Run that shit until everything looks smooth then taste. Add whatever the fuck you think it needs then serve right away or stash it in the fridge where it will keep for at least a wee. 

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Thanks again for joining us here in The Broiler Room. We know shit is fucking tough out there and your support means the world to us. Next week we’ve got a recipe for our favorite warm summer salad that makes use of all the cheap zucchini and corn in stores right now. We’ve eaten for the last 3 weeks and the cravings haven’t subsided. The following week we’ll be starting a new series all about summer fruits so strap in, we’re gonna be eating our feelings all season long.

Michelle and Matt