Homemade Salsa with Roasted Red Peppers
This fresh, zingy homemade salsa is easy to make, and has plenty of sweetness with no added sugar. The perfect way to create low fat, dairy free tacos. Do you like roasting vegetables? It’s so easy and adds so much sweetness. It’s one reason why this salsa needs little adding to give it flavour. And as well as just eating them, there are all sorts of things you can make with roast vegetables.Click on the picture for my guide:
Pulse dishes are great comfort food for this time of year, and anything spicy especially so, so tacos are perfect in this snowy weather we’ve been having. We made a big pile of refried beans on the hob (no actual frying involved), and piled on the homemade salsa. Salsa makes it feel like spring, even if the weather disagrees!
Now, My normal instinct with tacos is to cover everything in lashings of grated cheese or sour cream. A few years ago, however, my toddler was diagnosed as anaemic so I developed this full flavoured homemade salsa with roasted red peppers. There’s some evidence that calcium can inhibit iron absorption, and vitamin C helps the body to be able to use plant iron like in beans.
Vitamin C like you can find in lime juice and fresh tomatoes is also great for the immune system . That’s another reason not to restrict this recipe to the summer – though of course it’s perfect for barbecues, grills and days when it’s too hot to cook as well.
Homemade Salsa Tips
I originally used roasted red peppers in this homemade salsa because I’d made a version of this roast red pepper sauce with fresh peppers. My advice to you today – if you’re roasting peppers, do a few extra, who knows where it may lead.
If you want to leave the chilli out, or use less, or a whole load more, I’m sure it would be just as tasty! My advice when it comes to chilli is to get to know your preferences and the chilli you are using as they’re all different.
If you find it easier you can chop up the peppers with scissors and drop them straight into your serving bowl. The juices you get in the bottom of the dish will be a scrummy mixture of sweet pepper juices and olive oil. Don’t waste it, add it to the salsa!
If you chop the peppers and tomatoes on a small plate you can tip the juices into the salsa for added yum. I used cherry tomatoes – you could of course use big tomaotes and dice them.
Deconstructed Salsa
If you have a family member who can’t stand raw onion or thinks coriander / cilantro tastes like soap, then why not serve a deconstructed version? I soak the onion in the lime juice, and set all the ingredients out separately so diners can choose their own ingredients. Perfect for introducing children to new flavours! Why not serve with my easy lime and paprika shredded chicken?
Original version published 19 January 2016
This easy homemade salsa takes so little effort. It will make the perfect sweet and zingy addition to your barbecue/grill or tacos. Serves four as a side, or two as a main component of the meal
- 2 red peppers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 250 g cherry tomatoes 1 1/4 cups when diced
- 1 bunch coriander/cilantro
- 1 lime
- 1 generous pinch cayenne pepper
Roughly chop and roast the peppers, ideally several hours ahead of time. I cooked them for an hour on gas mark 5 in a glass dish, with 1 tbsp of olive oil and turned them once. Set aside to cool.
Finely dice the onion and quarter the tomatoes. Place them in your serving dish.
Zest and juice your lime, and add this. Chop your coriander/cilantro and mix it in.
- Now finely dice the roasted peppers and mix them in, along with the cayenne pepper.
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