This burnt salsa is hands down our favourite salsa recipe and couldn’t be easier to make. It’s a great side dish or light bite, perfect served with grilled meats, fish, tacos, salads or just as a dip with nachos (so, pretty much everything)!
When the flames of your barbecue have died down and the coals are glowing, fresh vegetables are dry-roasted until soft and well charred on all sides to bring this fantastically rich and smoky flavour.
Unlike most salsas (which are raw) the vegetables in this delicious salsa are roasted. Feel free to play around with the recipe. If you want more heat, add another chilli. If you’re a little sensitive to the heat, take one out! Unlike raw salsas, this burnt salsa will last a few more days in the fridge, so we’d recommend to make a big batch!
1 red pepper
1 red onion
1 green pepper
2 green chillies
1 bulb of garlic
3 tomatoes
4 cornichons
Zest and juice ½ lemon
A good glug of rapeseed oil
Handful of chervil, chives and parsley
Salt and pepper
Charring the Vegetables
Light your bbq or fire pit, and give it some time to allow the coals to turn white.
Lay all of the onion, peppers, garlic and tomatoes directly within the coals to char, until they begin to soften. All of the veg will be ready at different times, with the tomatoes and chillies ready first. When ready, remove from the coals and pop in a bowl to cool. Once all of the veggies are soft and charred all over, add to the bowl and cover with cling film.
Chopping the Veg
Once the vegetables have cooled, it’s time to prepare the veg.
Remove the skins from the rest of the veg and roughly chop.
Making the Salsa
Squeeze the cloves of garlic from their skins and add to a new bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then mash together with the rapeseed oil.
Add to the bowl with the garlic.
Finely chop the cornichons and the herbs and stir through the salsa.
Lastly, add the zest and juice of the lemon and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
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Photos by Joe Allen-Preston.
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