With summer finally starting to show its face around the Northwest, its time for foods that are light and full of flavor! Some of my favorites during this time of year are salsas. Salsa is the perfect light summer food that is so very versatile. You can keep it simple  and eat it with the traditional tortilla chips, or  take it a step further and top a nice halibut fillet… or toss it in a tortilla with some fire-grilled chili lime tri-tips.

However you eat it, you are going to love this sweet spicy salsa recipe!

Roasted Tomatillo-Red Pepper Salsa!

Ingredients:

• 2lbs Tomatillos – peeled and washed
• 1 Large Red Pepper
• 6 Serrano Peppers
• 1 Medium Yellow or White Onion
• 1 Cup Fresh Finely Chopped Cilantro
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Lime Juice
• 4 Large Cloves of Garlic – Unpeeled
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Quarter the onion and separate the layers into individual pieces. Cut the Red Pepper in half and remove the seeds. On a large baking sheet, place tomatillos, red pepper halves (cut side down), garlic, Serrano peppers and onions. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss the mix into the preheated oven. Roast for 8 minutes then switch your oven setting to broil and allow broiling for 5 minutes or until the tomatillos have a slight charring to them.

Once broiling is complete, pull the baking sheet out of the oven and let the vegetable mixture cool to room temp. Then, peel the skin off the red peppers and garlic cloves and pull the stems off the Serrano peppers. Place the entire mixture into a large bowl and purée using an immersion blender (or food processor).  Once puréed, add the finely chopped cilantro, lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Open your favorite tempernillo or malbec and enjoy!

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