WARM SALSA AND A PARTY FOR TWO

There is something about a bowl of fresh salsa that manages to awaken the taste buds and make you think that guests are on their way. Salsa seems to fall into this category of perennial party foods that you pull out (and often from a jar) when people are coming over. Even though I make my own, it only ever occurs to me to whip some up if the girls are coming over. However, there has been a salsa fest happening in the house for the last two weeks and this party train ain't leaving anytime soon either.

It all started when the Boy requested some to eat with his tortilla chips. For those that don't know my darling husband need to be made aware of the fact that this man hates most veg on the planet. And since I usually tell him that potatoes are starchy and don't count, I'll re-phrase that as he hates vegetables. I'm not kidding. I guess it's the result of eating over-boiled vegetables as a kid and being told that he wasn't leaving the table until he ate it. He used to pass a lot of time at that table. I'll put it another way and in the words of my mother-in-law regarding her son's eating habits, "You've managed to succeed where I failed ." For that, I pat myself on the back but it hasn't been pretty. I tend to look at it as a long term investment in that I don't look forward to the day when I am transformed into a one woman army trying to convince the kids that aubergines and broccoli is good for them while The Boy teases them with his veg free meals.

Back to the present and The Boy. Over Christmas while in the States we stopped by my Tio Meno's Mexican restaurant in San Diego and after years of eating there (and aided by a few beers too), he decided to stick a chip into the salsa bowl. It seemed to happen in slow motion but my jaw hit the floor instantly. Two weeks ago out of the blue, he asked how easy it was to make salsa. Needless to say, I raced to make some up. Since then, I've made a batch twice a week. It's quick, it's easy and it's something that you can do some freestyle cooking with. Play around with different chilis, different tomatoes (I used some yellow cherry ones for colour for my last batch) and different textures.

Warm Salsa

Makes 1 bowl

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes, left whole
1 onion, cut into quarters
1-2 whole fresh chilis, depending on size
1 bunch of fresh coriander / cilantro

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 3 of the tomatoes, 3/4 of the onion and the chili(s). Allow them to char in the pan for 5-10 minutes moving them occasionally so that all sides cook a little.

While that cooks, rough chop the remaining tomato, onion and two handfuls of coriander/cilantro and put in a bowl.

Once the ingredients in the pan are done and have cooled slightly, trim the stem of the chili off and place in a blender or hand held processor with the charred tomatoes and onion. Blitz until smooth and pour into the bowl with the chopped ingredients.

Stir the chopped and liquidised ingredients together. Add salt if needed.