Homemade Roasted Salsa

My mom always has two things in her house, homemade salsa and avocados to make guacamole. Tomatoes and avocados were meant for each other. Not only do they taste delicious together, but the healthy fats in avocados, slows down the sugar rush from fresh tomatoes.

I used to simply chop up fresh vegetables for salsa, until I learned that the cancer preventing lycopene in tomatoes is better absorbed after it is cooked. Now, we dry roast the vegetables in a cast iron pan until the skins blister. My daughter has been making this salsa since she was 5; it is fairly simple for a child with plenty of supervision. She likes to use the tongs to turn the items carefully and transfer everything to a blender. Just a quick blitz and voila, a delicious salsa. It really is that easy to have healthy homemade salsa that will last for a week in the fridge.

When my daughter makes salsa for herself, she only uses 1 jalapeño, without the seeds. We tease her that she has the taste buds of an English woman; stewed tomato with salt is her limit. Secretly, we are thrilled she is eating something so healthy. My mom adds all 4 jalapeños with the seeds to her batches  and her spicy loving guests can never get enough. I recommend adding one jalapeño at a time and taste testing. Remember you can always add more, but you can never take away.