I love salsas.
I love roasted veggies.
I love coffee.
LOVE em.
So I thought to myself, why not throw them all together?
There is a tartness to the tomatillos...
A sweetness to the tomatoes...
A spiciness to the jalapeno...
A bite of onion and garlic...
A smokiness from the chipotle and the roasting...
A freshness of to the lime juice and cilantro.
and the magic that brings it all together...an unexpected and wonderful surprise...
COFFEE!
Trust me on this one!
Oh my word! I sat there eating out of the bowl...with a spoon.
This stuff is addicting.
Here is what I did:
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Roasted Salsa Verde Café
This is a non-traditional salsa verde.
The flavors of Roasted/Broiled Tomatillos and Cherry/Grape Tomatoes marry beautifully with Spicy Chipotle and Fresh Jalapeno, Onion, Garlic and… COFFEE!
WHAT:
• 3 pounds tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 pint cherry/grape or any small tomato variety
• 2 large jalapeno peppers
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo
• ¼ cup honey
• 4-5 heaping teaspoons instant coffee
• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 1 head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• large handful of cilantro including stems and leaves
• juice of 1 lime
• salt
HOW:
- Set the broiler to high.
- Place WHOLE tomatillos, cherry /grape tomatoes, jalapenos, onion chunks, and garlic on a large roasting pan.
- Broil for 5-8 minutes, until tomatillos and onions start to blacken.
- Flip ingredients over and broil an additional 5-8 minutes, until everything is soft and charred. Move your pan around to make sure you get even charring.
- Remove from oven. Let the vegetables sit in the roasting pan until they have cooled enough to handle (about 15 minutes).
- If you want a milder salsa, then you can remove the seeds from the jalapenos (leave them in for spicy!).
- Place the vegetables into a food processor or blender, pouring in the accumulated juices on the sheet pan.
- Pulse until chunky, but liquid has been released.
- Add in the chipotle in adobo, cilantro, lime juice, honey, the instant coffee and a pinch of salt, and pulse to combine.
- Taste and add more salt if necessary.
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