This authentic smoky salsa is wonderful on its own dunked with chips, used as a sauce for enchiladas or poured over meats or chicken cooked in the slow cooker.
In This Post
Rebecca Lindamood is a something of a renaissance woman. She’s a cook, recipe developer, cooking instructor, pilates and barre fitness instructor, and a freelance writer who runs the successful blog Foodie With Family, she’s a mom to five boys (who she homeschools), and she’s got a heck of a sense of humor. Basically, she’s a woman after our own hearts. And we love that we can always rely on her blog as a source of inspired creations, complete candor, and lots of laughs.
If all that weren’t enough, Rebecca just released her first cookbook, Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make With Them, and ever since we got our hands on it, we’ve been elbow-deep in Ball jars, farmer’s market produce, and tradition. Needless to say, we’re bonkers for this book.
Not only does Rebecca’s book feature canning basics and tips, as well as a slew of canning recipes, but she also conveniently includes almost 40 recipes for dishes to make with your canned goods! Curry Cauliflower Pickles or Brown Sugar Bourbon Peaches, anyone?
Rebecca had a lot of inspiration guiding her in writing this book. Canning is practically in her blood. “If I didn’t get into canning, I might’ve been disowned,” she admits. “My grandma grew so much produce canning was really not negotiable. I loved it and wanted to provide the same amazing food for my kids and family and friends. The first time I ever canned was to make my grandmother’s sauerkraut with my dad, so they both get the “first one to set me on the path” distinction. I watched my grandma and aunties can the entire time I was growing up. I canned like a crazy person when I was first married.”
“What inspired the concept for the book was my ‘over-canning’ the first few years I canned. I mean, there’s only so much a family of (then) three can do with 90 something quarts of applesauce. After a few years of shoving everything into a jar that held still long enough to be canned, I refined the process by canning what I knew we would eat and what we loved enough to work through.”
Rebecca says her proudest moments from the process of writing this book came when she developed her Candied Jalapeños recipe (just one of the recipes that helped put her blog on the map). “I developed it after listening to a friend describe some “cowboy candy” she bought at a farmer’s market. I played around with her description, made something that my husband swooned over (and he is decided not the swooning type), and sent her a jar. She said I nailed it. That made me super happy. Some of my other favorites are the Vanilla Fig Preserves and the Korean Barbecue Sauce. They’re both totally typical of the food I love to eat; versatile and jam-packed (CANNING PUN) with flavor.”
“I loved writing the book far more than I thought I would. I was being paid to play with my food. What kid doesn’t dream of that? The most rewarding aspect was seeing the finished product and overhearing my husband as he recommended the book to a co-worker. I got a little weepy, I don’t mind saying.”
“I can’t lie, though, I am seriously inspired by the breadth and depth of talent in the blogging world. When a photo is good enough to make you want to eat whatever it is before you even know what went into it, you’re looking at serious talent.”
And now, my List of 10 Q’s for Rebecca’s A’s
1. Describe your recipes in 3 words:
Food No Guilt (DANGIT… you KNOW I have trouble with this. I’m a Cervantes word count girl in a 140 character world.)
2. If you could be one blogger other than yourself, who would you be?
Um, er, shoot. This one’s tough. I love my life, but if I could crib on someone’s skills for a while, I think it might be Joy the Baker or Deb Perelman.
3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?
Smitten Kitchen, Joy the Baker, Lee Samantha (maybe cheating since she is exclusively Insta and FB, but her food! I want to eat it! And it’s gorgeous!), all for their achievable but no-compromises recipes/cooking and the gloriousness of their photography.
4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?
My chef’s knife. Legitimately. That is like the extension of my hand. No chef is complete without a great knife! It has been years since I was in a professional kitchen, but it stays true.
5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?
My eternal shame is my quick breads. I don’t know if I’m overmixing, overthinking, or holding my tongue wrong, but I can never quite achieve that perfect quick bread texture.
6. What did you have for dinner last night?
Fresh blueberries that the boys and I picked, a giant salad, and popcorn. Shhhh. Don’t tell.
7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you?
I can recite the alphabet backwards. Oh, you mean something grown-up that didn’t have its roots in college? I’m a certified Advanced Pilates Mat Teacher and Barre Fitness instructor. I know I said it earlier, but honestly, I can’t think of anything that’s secret. I raise boys and chickens, and I homeschool. Kind of an open book :D
8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating:
Salad! Fully loaded taco salad WITH Fritos, please!
9. The one secret to your success is?
Salt. Dude. I’d die of depression on a salt-limited diet. I salt everything including my dessert. GOOD SALT. Ask anyone who has travelled with me. I carry good salt in my purse. That’s not weird, is it?
10. What would your advice be for a novice canner?
Don’t fear it! Start with something easy to understand like a preserve or pickled onions. Move up to stuff that you find more intimidating, but do try it. Your food, made in YOUR kitchen, with YOUR eyes making sure everything is clean and your produce is top-shelf is the best assurance you have of food safety. Just follow the rules, man. I know- rules make me chafe, too, but canning is one area where I’m a hide-bound rule follower.
Thank you Rebecca for being one of our favorite foodie crushes! And now, let’s get into that amazing recipe!
Smoky Roasted Salsa Recipe
One of my favorite parts of Rebecca’s cookbook is not just the unique ingredient combinations she features for jams and sauces, but the additional recipes of what to make WITH the jars of deliciousness you’ve just canned.
I had a hard time choosing which recipe to share. Her Korean Barbecue Sauce from the book is so utterly expandable you could use it on just about everything and as you know from these two recipes, I’m a huge fan of Korean recipes like this one.
But with the plethora of amazing produce out there right now, and my husband’s penchant for everything hot, I tried her Smoky Roasted Salsa, and I’m telling you, it is a serious winner and my husband couldn’t stop raving about it. So far we’ve had it with chips, nachos and every day with eggs for breakfast. I’ll be using it in another one of her recipes from the book soon, so stay tuned for that.
But first…let’s dip into this salsa.
I found a bounty of tomatillos and Roma tomatoes at the farmers market. But I didn’t get them. And then I regretted it. So I headed to one of our local Mexican markets and hit the jackpot. Tomatillos AND Roma tomatoes for get this: 2 pounds for a dollar!!! No, I am not kidding. This could be the least expensive canning project I’ve ever done.
The tomatillos (green tomatoes) and Romas are roasted whole in the oven with onion and garlic. No need to peel the garlic or season or oil any of the vegetables. My one recommendation is to line your sheet pans with heavy duty aluminum foil to make for easy clean up. The roasting of the tomatoes makes peeling the Roma’s a cinch and takes away that raw flavor. Rebecca’s instructions were to place on one sheet pan, but I needed two.
While at the Mexican market, I found the guajillo chiles Rebecca instructs to toast in a fry pan and then soak before adding the the blender to get all mixed up with the goodness. But there were no dried chipotle peppers to be found. So instead, I bought a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and used them instead.
I started with 4 chipotle peppers and then added two more after taste-testing my salsa. I also upped the amount of sugar and salt to balance out the additional adobo sauce.
The combination of peppers and tomatoes produced a wonderfully smoky flavor that wasn’t too spicy or overwhelming. In fact next time, I think I might keep ¼ of the seeds I removed from the guajillo peppers to up the spicy flavor. We shall see!
After a quick whiz in the blender or food processor, cook the salsa for about 15 minutes or so. And then it’s time to start canning.
One of the important tips I took away from Rebecca’s book is to wipe the edges of your glass jars with vinegar rather than water. Vinegar is high in acid so will better keep that pesky bacteria from forming.
Recipe Ideas to Serve With Your Salsa
- Main: Slow Cooker Smoky Pulled Pork Tacos
- Main: Slow Cooker Mexican Pot Roast
- Breakfast: Breakfast Tacos
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Smoky Roasted Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 dried guajillo peppers , stems and seeds removed
- 2 cups boiling water
- 4-6 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 yellow onions , peeled and quartered
- 1 head of garlic , separated into cloves but not peeled
- 2 pounds plum or Roma tomatoes
- 2 pounds tomatillos , husks removed
- 1 cup bottled lime juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Use a damp paper towel to wipe the dried chiles clean before toasting. In a heavy, dry skilled (such as cast iron) toast the chiles in batches until pliable. Place them in a shallow bowl and pour the boiling water over them, then weigh them down with a plate. Let soak for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the onions, garlic, tomatoes and tomatillos on a rimmed baking sheet pan lined in aluminum foil. Broil, turning occasionally, until they are blistered all over and the peels begin to peel back from the Romas.
- Transfer the tomatillos to a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth and add to a large stockpot. Add the onions to the blender. Squeeze the cooked garlic from the peels into the blender then pulse and add to the stockpot with the tomatillos. Cover the Roma tomatoes still on the baking sheet with foil and allow to cool. This will help release the skins as well.
- Add the soaked chiles and the chipotle chiles and 2 tablespoons or so of adobo sauce to the blender. Strain the guajillo pepper soaking liquid through a fine mesh sieve and add it to the blender and blend on high until smooth. Add to the stockpot.
- Next, peel the skins from the tomatoes. Discard the skins and add the tomatoes to the blender and pulse to the desired texture. Add to the stock pot with the lime juice, sugar and kosher salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Ladle into prepared pint or half-pint jars with in ½ inch of the rim and wipe the rims with a vinegar soaked washcloth. Fix jar lids in place and tighten appropriately.
- Use canning tongs to transfer jars to boiling water canner with boiling water to cover by 2 inches. Put the canner lid in place and bring to a full rolling boil for 15 minutes at sea level, and an additional 5 minutes per additional 1000 feet in elevation.
- Transfer jars to a towel-lined counter and cool completely, at least 12 hours, before removing any rings. Store in a cool dark place for up to a year.
Recipe slightly adapted from Not Your Mama’s Canning Book.
Visit Rebecca and her blog at Foodie With Family.
Purchase Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them here.
This post was compiled by Heidi and FoodieCrush contributor Hayley Putnam. Follow Hayley and her foodie tastes and other flights of fancy on Pinterest and Instagram.
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How much Salsa does this make? I need/want to get 1/2 pint jars. Thanks.
Hi Twila! You should get 6-8 pint jars, so depending on how many 1/2 pints you’d want, you’ll want to cut this recipe down some. We hope this helps!
Could you add cilantro to the canning recipe?
Definitely worth trying!
Your post is really amazing and great. I love your post and your way of writing i will always bookmark your page.
Thank you!
Just made this and it is not good at all. In addition to being very thin (and I only used 1/2 cup of chile soaking liquid), the flavor is horrible. I have added more salt, cumin, additional chipotles and it just doesn’t have any flavor. Except lime….it is very limey. Might try to get some more tomatoes and add them and see what happens.
Thank you for educating us on how to make various meals. Keep it up.
I love your blogs but I made this smokey roasted salsa 2 days ago and it was terrible tasting !
I love your blogs but I made this smokey roasted salsa 2 days ago and it was terrible tasting ! Soooo disappointed ! It was a a decent amount of effort to find the ingredients and prepare it for a dinner party and everyone disliked it !!!
Thank you for the receipt! I’ll try it
good!! I like it!
This healthy take on the traditional chips-and-salsa combo is nearly fat-free and super-refreshing. The antioxidant-rich salsa is delicious served right after it’s made, but the flavors meld nicely after a day or two in the refrigerator.
thank you! amazing receipe!
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this is an amazing receipe
Wow Heidi. you done great job. So spicy elements in this roasted salsa & beautiful color. I really appreciated your thought & too much love it.
Thank you Rony :)
I just made this salsa, and I am concerned about adding the 2 cups of child soaking liquid. The salsa is very loose already- will it be missing depth without it? Should I reduce it and then add it? I cannot imagine that 15 minutes on simmer would reduce the liquid enough- does it? -any guidance will be appreciated. I will can it tomorrow or the next day I hope to hurlers back. Thank You
Just made this and had read your comment. I just added about 1/2 cup and it’s still pretty watery. Trying to boil it down.
I appreciate your recipe concepts . I see always you will share excellent recipe .
I have never canned but been dying now that I am getting into creating my own garden….I spy my first experiment! Rebecca’s recipes are always winners so this must be!
I am spice lover and I loved Smoky Roasted Salsa Recipe. The combo of all the peppers with the combo of lime juice is raising the level of taste. Its very appetizing in appearance!!!
I am gonna buy Rebecca’s cookbook. Thanks for the share :)
If I didn’t already adore Rebecca, I would have a total crush on her after reading this interview. She really is the ultimate renaissance woman and my inspiration in so many ways. Love your photos, Heidi!
I am air kissing you, Heidi and Hayley. You make me feel like a queen! I am so glad you loved the book and the salsa both!
Muchas Smooches!
Homemade salsa is LIFE-changing. I love the different types of peppers that went into this batch, and I can practically taste how smoky and wonderful it is! Can’t wait to try this one out :)
This recipe sounds great and I can’t wait to try it. But one thing, though, that should be noted: Tomatillos are NOT the same as green tomatoes. I wonder if you’d consider checking that and revising your statement? Best wishes, jill
Thanks Jill. You bet! I’ll make the distinction more clear. Thanks for the comment!
OMG!
You have hit my go to canning recipe blog!
I started making Rebecca’s candied jalapeños years ago and now Everyone requests jars for Christmas.
I can’t say enough about them! And this recipe for salsa? Another big winner at our house!
Love Foodie with Family!
Thanks for the feature of her new book.
Hey Lois, totally agree about Rebecca’s canning prowess. And her recipes are always solid, and interesting. Just like her. :) Keep on canning!