Santa Fe Recipe Gives Salsa A Smoky Flavor

Broiling some of the tomatoes in this Fire-Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa brings out a smoky, earthy flavor. The recipe is from "Coyote's Pantry" by Mark Miller and Mark Kiffin of Santa Fe's Coyote Cafe.

Miller, a prominent restaurateur in Washington, D.C., (Red Sage) as well as in New Mexico, has been considering a venture in the Seattle area. This all-purpose salsa provides an advance taste of his talents. Chipotle chilies are available canned at Mexican markets.

---------------------------------- FIRE-ROASTED TOMATO CHIPOTLE SALSA ---------------------------------- About 4 cups

4 cloves garlic. 2 pounds plum tomatoes, divided. 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided. 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped. 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves. 4 chipotle chilies en adobo, chopped (available in cans at Mexican markets and some specialty food stores and supermarkets). 1/4 cup red wine vinegar. 1 tablespoon salt. 1 teaspoon sugar.

1. Fresh garlic can be roasted unpeeled, broken up into individual cloves. Place the cloves in a dry cast-iron skillet and roast over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, shaking occasionally to prevent the garlic from burning or roasting unevenly. Garlic also can be roasted in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned, shaking the cloves occasionally. When cool enough to handle, squeeze garlic from the peels and finely mince.

2. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil. Cut the stem ends from half the tomatoes, place on pan and broil until skins are partly blackened. Watch carefully to make sure they blacken, not burn. Set aside to cool.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat until lightly smoking. Add the onion and saute until caramelized, about 10 minutes.

4. Transfer the onion, blackened tomatoes and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed. Peel, seed and chop the remaining 1 pound of tomatoes, and add to the processor bowl with cilantro, chipotle chilies, vinegar, the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and sugar. Pulse again until chopped but not pureed.

5. Serve at room temperature as an all-purpose salsa. It will hold well for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

NOTE: For a green salsa, you can substitute 2 pounds tomatillos for the tomatoes. Husk and rinse the tomatillos, then blacken half of them under the broiler as in the instructions above for tomatoes. Chop the remaining raw tomatillos and process as above.