roasted jalapeño-tomato salsa with fresh cilantro

nothing beats fresh salsa. especially really good fresh salsa. especially when the recipe comes from rick bayless - the mexican cooking connoisseur. i knew it was going to be good before i even made it.

roasting the vegetables gives an authentic taste, making you feel like you're eating salsa from a mexican restaurant and not that bottled stuff. i made this for the nanny family a couple weekends ago and they gobbled it up.

ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 10 medium), preferably plum tomatoes
2 to 3 fresh jalapeño chiles (1 to 1 1/2 ounces), stemmed
half of a small white onion (2 ounces), sliced into 1/4 inch thick rings
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
1 generous teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar

directions:

preheat broiler. place tomatoes and jalapeños on baking sheet. set pan about 4 inches below broiler and cook for about 6 minutes. (they should be darkly roasted). rotate tomatoes/jalapeños and cook for 6 more minutes on other side. (the tomato skins will split and curl in places) set aside to cool.

turn the oven down to 425 degrees. place onion rings and garlic on baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes. onion should be browned and garlic should be soft and browned in spots. set aside to cool.

in a food processor, pulse the jalapeños, garlic and onion. spoon into big bowl. add tomatoes (including juices from roasting pan) to processor giving them a coarse chop. add to bowl.  stir in enough water to give salsa an easily spoonable consistency. add cilantro. taste and season with salt and vinegar.

serve with your favorite tortilla chips and guacamole.