Canned Roasted Tomato Salsa + Giveaway

Tomato, Tomato, Tomato! 

Somehow we have quickly entered September with very little time dedicated to my favorite fruit. Yes, we got some tomatoes drunk last week, and yes, I have eaten my fair share of tomatoes and  mayo sandwiches on white bread. There have even been a few tomato and feta salads around our house despite the fact that my husband hates tomatoes.

Still I refuse to accept that I will have to wait another year for one of my favorite eating seasons of all - tomato season. So I do I what can and can! I mean, I can. I mean, I'm a canner. You know, I put things up. 

You don't know what I'm saying do you? 

I'm concerned that preserving food via glass jars and a hot water bath has become quite quaint - something reserved for hipster gardeners, little old ladies, and bored housewives. The thing is canning is pretty badass. A lot of the things you pay $2-3 a jar for at the grocery store, and the other things you pay too much for at that cute little speciality grocer, can be made at home for pennies. 

Canning doesn't require a ton of equipment, heck, you don't even need a thermometer unless you're making jam. You just need fresh ingredients and a clean kitchen. 

Can we talk about cleaning your kitchen for a hot minute? The fine folks at Bon Ami sent me a some of their products to try out recently. I was kind of skeptical at first, because I am not a little old lady and I like to think I clean my kitchen with "hip young" cleaning products. But I really fell in love with their Tangerine Thyme Liquid Cleanser for cleaning counters and floors, and sometimes cupboard doors {oops!}, at our house. I mentioned it to my mom and it turns out both she and my grandmother used Bon Ami for years. I love that. I also love that Bon Ami is a family owned and operated company.**

Well, those same fine folks at Bon Ami are also fans of canning {and cleaning, obviously} and want to share the love! They have an awesome care package to send one of you lucky readers including my favorite scent of the dish soap and liquid cleanser, a super cute tea towel, a lovely little wooden spoon, along with some canning recipes and a few other goodies for one lucky reader. 

Just comment below telling me if you can, what you have canned or are planning to can before summer ends. Tweet about the giveaway for extra entries and just leave me a comment with a link to the tweet. Entries will be open for one week and are limited to the continental United States. 

  

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Makes 6 pint sized jars

Adapted from Simply Recipes

This has been the summer of roasting for me! I've found fruit a little sweeter and veggies a lot brighter after an application of hot, hot heat, and I wouldn't have my salsa any other way. 

This recipe was formulated with specific ratio of acidity to ensure it shelf stability - alter it at your own risk. 

5 pounds tomatoes

1 pound chopped Sweet onion (about 2 large), such as Vidalia or Walla Walla

1 pound large Anaheim chiles (5-6 chiles)

3 jalapeno chilies, seeded and stems removed, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1-2 teaspoons sugar (to taste)

Canning equipment:

5 to 6 pint-sized canning jars, with rings and new lids

very large stockpot or canning pot

flat steamer rack {for the filled jars to sit on in the water bath, so that they don't touch the bottom of the pot, a round metal trivet or several clean kitchen towels can be used for this as well}

Long tongs with rubber bands wrapper around the end {helps grip the jars} or canning tongs

Ladle

Canning funnel

First, prepare the cans.

Set the steamer rack in the bottom of the large pot. Set clean mason jars and on the rack. Fill the pot with enough water to fill the jars and cover them by one inch. Add the jars’ rings to the pot, but not the lids. Bring the pot to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. (Keep the jars warm while preparing the salsa.)

Have an extra small pot or kettle of water at a simmer going as well as back up. You’ll use this later to activate the jar lids.

Next prepare the salsa.

Heat your broiler to high. Core the tomatoes and arrange them core side down on a half sheet pan. Broil the tomatoes until the skins are blistered, cracked, and are beginning to blacken, approximately 10 minutes.  Remove the tomatoes from the oven and cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Roast the chopped onions on half sheet pan under the broiler, stirring occasionally, until they are beginning to blacken as well, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool while you roast the chiles.

Broil the Anaheim green chile peppers and jalapenos until blackened all over. Remove the roasted chiles to a bowl and cover with a plate or pot lid for 5 minutes. This steams the peppers and makes them easier to peel. Gently rub off the skin and discard, don’t worry if some of the blackened bits stick –it only adds to the flavor. Stem, seed and the chiles. You need 1 cup of chopped chiles. Do not use more than 1 1/2 cups of chopped chiles.

Remove and discard the tomato peels. Chop the tomatoes, saving any juices that may come out of them. You will need at least 7 cups of chopped tomatoes and juices.

Combine the tomatoes, onions, chiles and garlic in a blender and pulse to desired consistency. You’ll likely have to work in batches – I like to puree one batch and give the other batches 10 to 12 pulses so my salsa have a restaurant style consistency.

Combine the vegetables with the remaining ingredient in a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Taste the salsa and adjust the season 1-2 additional teaspoons of sugar or apple cider vinegar maybe added to taste.

Fill and process the canning jar:

Place the jar lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water to sterilize.

Remove the sterilized jars to a clean kitchen towel. Ladle the hot salsa into hot canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe the rims with a clean, dampened paper towel so that there is no residual food on the rims. Set the canning lids on the jars. Screw on the lid rings. The rings should be finger tight – you want air to be able to escape in order to ensure a good seal.

Return the filled and lidded jars back onto the rack in the large stockpot of hot water you used to sterilize the jars in step one. You may need to remove some of the water from the pot to prevent it from overfilling. Cover the jars with at least 1-inch of water. Bring to a rolling boil and process for 15 minutes (20 minutes for altitudes 1000 to 6000 ft, 25 minutes above 6000 ft). Then turn off heat and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the water bath and let sit on a counter for several hours until completely cool. The lids may "pop" as the cooling salsa creates a vacuum under the lid and the jars are sealed. If a lid has not sealed store in the refrigerator and use within the next few days.

Label the salsa and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year. 

**I received samples from Bon Ami. I was not paid for my review of their products, these opinions are my own.