Grilled Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

4 Tomatoes each (around 2 lbs.)

1 Red Onions each (around 1/2 lbs)

2 Bell Peppers green (around 1lb) each one red, one green (around 1 lb)

6 Garlic Gloves each peeled

2 teaspoon Chopped Cilantro

1 Lime each (approx 1 tablespoon of juice)

2 Tabasco teaspoon

1 Jalapeno Pepper each optional

1 tablespoon Olive Oil optional

1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon Salt

Servings: 4 cups

Directions

Turn the grill on high on one side and medium on the other. (make sure the grill is clean.) Close the lid. The grill must be very hot to be able to grill the tomato properly. Take the onion; peel it and slice it in 3/8” thick slices. Insert skewers across the onion slices to keep the rings from separating while grilling. Take the peppers. In one of them, make a hole with a small knife large enough to insert the garlic cloves. Set aside.

Slice the tomatoes into 1/2” thick slices. The tomatoes must be firm, not too ripe, to be grilled. Before you start grilling, make sure the grill is very hot. Test with a slice of tomato on the hot side of the grill. It must sizzle. Spray the grill lightly with a small amount of oil. Be careful of flames! Spray the tomato slices and start grilling. Place the tomatoes in the middle of the grill. The tomatoes will need about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Make sure they have grill marks. (if they stick to the grill, the grill may not be hot enough or not clean enough.) When the tomatoes come off the grill, it is a good idea to put them in the refrigerator so they stop cooking.

The onions and peppers will be a lot easier to grill. (The onions and peppers should be grilled on medium heat.) Keep the peppers on the grill until the skin is charred (approx. 10 minutes) and the onions should have grill marks on them. When the peppers are done, let them cool down on a cutting board. Do not cut them open yet so the garlic inside can keep on cooking. Let cool. The skin of the peppers should be easy to remove. Cut open peppers and remove garlic and seeds. Chop garlic finely. Chop vegetables and place in bowl. (You can use a food processor to chop but pulse only so the salsa stays chunky.) The oil can be added to the final product, but it is not necessary. However, the oil will give a richer flavor if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recommendations

It is important to realize that if you do not have grill marks on the food, the salsa will not taste any different then any salsa.