Roasted Garlic Pepper Salsa

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on May 5th and if you've ever attended one of the parties you know that the food is almost all traditional Mexican fare and there is plenty of it. A personal favorite of mine is a roasted garlic pepper salsa that can be applied to most of the dishes prepared. What makes this salsa so awesome is the roasting of the peppers, garlic and tomatoes which gives them a smoky flavor.

Ingredients:

• 6 large New Mexico Green Chili Peppers
• 1 large white or yellow onion (peeled)
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 3 large Jalapeños
• 8 large (preferably fresh but canned drained diced will work) red tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil (extra virgin is best)
• 6-8 cloves garlic (husks removed)
• ½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Preparation:

1. Wash all vegetables well and drain
2. Place peppers, onions and tomatoes on the grill on medium heat (be sure to turn regularly)
3. remove ends of cilantro stalks
4. Husk garlic cloves
5. When the grilled vegetables are done and blacked on all sides, remove from the grill
6. Remove skins from the Chili Peppers and the tomatoes
7. Remove the seeds and the stems from all peppers

Place all of the vegetables in a food processor or chopper. If your processor is not large enough to accommodate all ingredients, separate into 2-3 batches as need.

Sprinkle the salt and pepper, lime or lemon juice and olive oil over the top of the 1^st batch. Once you have blended the ingredients to the desired consistency, chunky or fine, pour into a decorative bowl and stir well making sure all ingredients are mixed well. Cover with lid or plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow all the flavors blend together.

Tips:

For milder salsa replace the Jalapeños with red or green Bell Pepper. This will take a little of the heat out.

With any hot spicy dish, if your mouth begins to burn, drink a small glass of milk or eat a chunk of cheese. This will help with the burning sensation.

For very hot salsa do not remove the seeds from the peppers.

Do not cover with foil. Foil tends to make salsa turn dark.

The entire process takes about 30 minutes and there will be about 4 cups of salsa when finished.

This roasted garlic pepper salsa is great served with tortilla chips on with any of your favorite Mexican dishes.

Caution: Can be Mucho Caliente' Very Hot!