CHUNKY TOMATO SALSA

Chunky Tomato Salsa

An almost instant flavor hit to most things savoury, add it to any Mexican cuisine, tomato based sauce, or just bring on the Corn Chips and you have a healthy snack sorted in seconds. (Well, after the prep work is done!) This has the potential to keep in the fridge for up to three weeks, but we all know that is a pipe dream. It will be eaten almost immediately!

NEED:

600g Roma tomatoes (approx, do NOT use 1/2 tomato, whole tomatoes only)

1L water for steaming

Iced water in a large bowl

80-100g red onion

1 clove garlic

Handful coriander leaves and stalks

1 flame grilled red chilli (discussion below)

1 tbsp raw sugar

Good pinch sea salt

1 tsp ground cumin

130g tomato paste

50g white wine vinegar

Juice 1 lime

Corn chips to serve

DO:

Score the base of each tomato with a cross. Place tomatoes into Varoma dish. Pour water into Thermomix bowl and steam tomatoes 10 min/Varoma/speed 4. Cool tomatoes by plunging them into iced water. Peel.

Place onion, garlic, coriander and chili into Thermomix bowl and chop 2 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Add remaining all ingredients (do I have to specify this?) other than Corn Chips but including tomatoes into drained Thermomix bowl and cook 60 min/80ºC/speed 2. Cool completely.

Serve with diced avocado as a garnish and with lots of corn chips…or toasted tortilla wedges, or as the sauce for char grilled chicken or beef strips wrapped in soft tortillas; you see where I am going with this? Its another pantry item…yes, I think so!

Now to the flame grilling discussion: Place whole chilli on an open gas flame and turn it a few times until it is charred and the flesh is soft. This will not take ages, but nor will it take seconds. When you are happy that it is well charred, place into a glass bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the chilli to sweat. Rub the blackened skin off prior to using in the recipe. This will add a lot of flavour to the salsa.