Roasted Red Pepper Salsa ~ it’s made entirely without tomatoes, but a jar of roasted red peppers fills in beautifully, giving this salsa a vibrant color and flavor!
Mid summer begs for salsa — it’s as much of a seasonal treat as a ripe peach or a perfect ear of corn. I spoon it, scoop it, and slather it on anything that doesn’t move, and I think it brightens up just about everything. It’s one of the few foods I’ve ever encountered that is both wildly delicious and practically calorie free. It gets extra points for that.
This particular one is made without any tomatoes. I used a jar of drained roasted red peppers as a stand in. I’m so happy with the result – it not only gives the salsa great flavor and a deep rich red color, but the color holds overnight in the fridge. The flavor is a little deeper and richer than a standard tomato based salsa, but not in an overpowering way. In a strange way, the red peppers make it seem more ‘tomatoey’.
Because everything is finely minced this is a good choice for serving with chips, you can easily scoop it up with minimal mess.
Restaurant style salsas like this one are usually made with canned tomatoes, and so I like this version because it does away with that canned flavor. It’s an all around great recipe, I highly recommend it.
Roasted Red Pepper Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 jar drained roasted red peppers, about a cup
- 1/4 red onion, peeled and rough chopped
- assorted colorful bell peppers, I used 1/2 each of a yellow, orange, and green pepper
- 1 jalapeno, rough chopped, seeds and all
- 1 handful of fresh cilantro, stems removed
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp sherry vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put the drained roasted peppers into a small food processor and pulse about 20 times, until they are pureed but still have a slight texture. Remove to a bowl.
- I process each ingredient separately so that they get evenly minced. Pulse the red onion until finely chopped and then remove to the bowl.
- Do the same with the bell peppers, and then the jalapeno, and finally the cilantro. Add it all to the bowl.
- Mix everything together with a spoon, and add the lime juice, vinegar, and a little salt and pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Just before serving, taste it and adjust the lime, vinegar, salt and pepper to your liking.
- This will keep well for a day in the refrigerator.
Notes
This salsa sounds so good! I bet it would be excellent on top of a piece of seared fish, maybe with a squeeze of lemon or lime.
I am absolutely drooling over this salsa! If I could only have one type sauce for the rest of my life, it would be salsa. Actually…..it would be THIS salsa 🙂 I LOVE red peppers. YUM!
Thanks Kennedy, i completely agree with you about salsa – it’s the perfect food!
Just beautiful, Sue! Gorgeous photos and delicious salsa.
What a great salsa and I love the roasted red pepper twist. So nice to try something different from the usual 🙂
Sue this is beautiful and such a wonderful flavor combination. I’m imagining it has a nod toward Italian flavors. A perfect celebration of summer. Love your ‘reader recipe’ cookbook project too. You’ll probably get some great family options from your readers that will be fun to share in your cookbook.
Just pass the spoon over! I would devour the whole jar, Sue.
Hi Sue, never would of thought of red peppers as a salsa, I bet this is delicious on eggs too.
Great idea for the cookie recipes!
Pinning this as I love roasted red peppers.
thanks Monique – I think the cookies will be fun!
I am loving salsas this summer too. Made a watermelon one last week and will be making a peach and fennel one next week. Great way to use fresh fruits and vegies. Love the vibrant color of your red pepper salsa.
Peach and fennel sounds amazing…I just make as many as I can all summer!
Thanks for stopping by Penny!
This is a beautiful jar of salsa! Love the colors and roasted red peppers are a favorite. This is a wonderful summer recipe! Pinning and sharing 🙂
Thanks Tricia <3