Recipe – Roasted Poblano Salsa

I’m feeling decidedly uncreative this year…

…as far as food preservation goes.

Am I allowed to say that?

There I go, losing my homesteader status points again…

I’m going to blame the cookbook and the shall-not-yet-be-named undisclosed project for eating up all of my allotted creativity for the year.

I got nuthin’. 

I guess I did do some fermented pickled green beans, although that was more in the name of laziness and not wanting to pull out the pressure canner, rather than a stroke of creative genius.

Dang you, cookbook.

However, even in a complete creative slump, it’s kinda hard to ignore the garden when it’s giving you ripe tomatoes, happy poblano peppers, and plump onions all at the same time.

Okay, okay, fine. I’ll make some salsa. Geez.

If I had to choose, fresh salsa or pico de gallo is usually the salsa I’ll make. However, the thing with fresh/uncooked salsa is that you’ll need to consume it all within a couple days, and when you have BUCKETS of tomatoes on your counter, a couple cups of pico don’t really make a dent in the chaos.

Right now it’s all about processing the boatloads of produce coming into my house and less about flavor profiles, although if I happen to get both, that’s awesome.

I Heart Poblanos

I’ve been growing poblano peppers like a crazy person for the last two years. For some reason unbeknownst to me, they seem to adore Wyoming (not many veggies do…) and survive much better than bell peppers (which absolutely despise me). I grow them from seed I get from Baker Creek and always end up with far more poblanos than one person really needs (which is why I finally canned some last year).

Poblanos are the only pepper I care to use in either my cooked or fresh salsas. However, if you can’t get or grow poblanos where you are, you can substitute Anaheim peppers or any other mild chili pepper. (Heck, you can use hot ones if you like– but that doesn’t really fly at my house…) 

This roasted poblano salsa recipe is perfect for using up a portion of your tomato and pepper bounty at the same time. You may can it if you like, although it’ll also freeze like a champ. Or you can just eat it fresh (it does make a decent-sized batch, so feel free to halve or quarter the recipe if you’re not feeding an army.)

Oh– since this salsa recipe contains added acid in the form of vinegar, you can use a water bath canner for it if you wish.

Roasted Poblano Salsa Recipe

How to Roast Chili Peppers

Select only fresh, firm peppers for canning, as limp ones will yield less than desirable results. Wash the peppers, then place in a single layer on a baking sheet and broil for 5-10 minutes to blister the skins. Flip over once to ensure they char on both sides. (It’s important to blister them as evenly as you can, otherwise, it’s very difficult to get the skins to come off.)

Remove the charred peppers and place into a Ziploc bag and seal tightly. Allow them to sit for 10 minutes, then remove the peppers from the bag and rub off as much of the peel/skin as possible.

Roasted Poblano Salsa Notes

• If you live at higher altitudes, you’ll need to increase the time you water bath your jars according to these recommendations.
• This recipe was based on a salsa recipe I found in the Ball Blue Book (affiliate link). I stayed very close to the ratios of tomatoes/vinegar/other ingredients to ensure it would be at the proper level of acidity to be safely canned in a water bath canner.
• If you don’t have any fresh cilantro (a common problem at my house), try using 2-3 drops of high-quality cilantro essential oil instead! These are my #1 fav essential oils for cooking.
• The amount of vinegar is important in this recipe as it ensures it is safe for processing in a water bath canner. If you want to decrease the amount of vinegar, simply use a pressure canner to preserve it or freeze it instead of canning it.

That does it.