Roasted Jalapeno Christmas Salsa

I went to an explosives handling course in Socorro, New Mexico a few years ago and went out to lunch with one of the few people there who grew up in New Mexico. The waitress asked each of us "Red or Green" when we ordered and my New Mexican acquaintance answered "Christmas." Every entree comes with chili pepper sauce, which is red or green depending on whether it is made from ripe chilies or green ones. If you choose "Christmas" then you get one scoop of each.

This recipe is inspired by the red and green chili combination, but it is not an authentic Southwestern condiment. In the Southwest they use a relatively large Anaheim-type pepper that is fairly mild in most varieties. Any thick-fleshed pepper can be used. In this case I used a fairly hot Jalapeno with some deadly-hot Black Congo peppers mixed in. You can adjust the heat quite a bit by removing the seeds and changing the mix of peppers. I like it mild enough so that I can eat a spoonful out of the jar but hot enough so that I start to cry if I try to eat a second spoonful.

Salena likes to watch me sort peppers. I try to get as many red, ripe peppers as I can by picking at two week intervals. Peppers keep pretty well for a month in the fridge in a paper bag. If they have started to turn you can keep them at room temperature and they might ripen all the way. Full size green peppers that have corking (light tan stripes) are also ready to pick. Try to avoid undersize, smooth, green peppers. They tend to disintegrate while you are processing them.

Roasting peppers on the grill goes pretty quickly if you get a good bed of coals. Keep them moving and try to get them blistered all over with some blackened spots. The roasting process makes the skin slip right off and concentrates the sugars in the ripe peppers. A jalapeno is every bit as sweet as a red bell pepper if you can get past the heat. Collect them in a bowl when they darken and cover it with plastic wrap for a few hours. After they cool you can process them right away or hold them in the fridge overnight.

Cut off the top of the pepper and split it lengthwise.

Flatten it out and scrape out most of the seeds and membranes. You can reserve some seeds and blend them back in to make a hotter salsa.

Scrape off the skin. It should slip right off. Coarsely chop the meaty part of the pepper.

Dissolve one tablespoon of sea salt in one cup of vinegar for each ten cups of chopped peppers. Mix it in thoroughly and don't skimp on the vinegar if you are going to process the jars for room temperature storage. Peppers don't have enough acid for safe canning in a boiling water bath so you need to add enough vinegar. White vinegar preserves the pretty color better, but apple cider vinegar adds flavor -- your choice.

Pack the peppers into clean jars.

When the jars are full you can keep them in the refrigerator or process them for 5 minutes in boiling water. I do both because I've got a spare fridge in the basement and the jars don't take up too much room.

The texture of the peppers is firm and meaty. I already mentioned that ripe jalapenos are surprisingly sweet, but they are also quite rich - almost buttery. It is addictive.

I love Christmas salsa on anything that goes with hot sauce. Tacos, black bean soup, and fried eggs just aren't the same without it. Little toast rounds with goat cheese and a bit of minced salsa makes a nice finger food.

Post a comment if you can think of another way to serve your Christmas Salsa.