Roasted Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Wash 6 pint jars (or 12 half-pint jars), bands, and new lids in hot soapy water and keep the jars hot until ready to fill.
2. 2Simmer the new lids in hot water per the manufacturer's instructions.
3. 3Wash the tomatoes, onion (cut into thick slices), pepper, and garlic (left in the skin), toss lightly with a small amount of oil, and roast on a sheet pan under a broiler or in a 450 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until the vegetables are softened and lightly charred in spots.
4. 4Once cool enough to handle, use the blanch-and-ice-bath method on the roasted tomatoes if the skins did not already loosen from roasting: score an X, dip 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water, plunge into ice water, then slip off any remaining skin; peel the roasted garlic and remove the pepper skin, cores, and seeds, then chop everything and cut out the tomato cores.
5. 5Combine the chopped roasted tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, the 1 cup bottled lemon or lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a large pot, keeping the onion and pepper at or below the amounts listed here.
6. 6Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes to blend the smoky flavors.
7. 7In addition to the bottled lemon or lime juice already in the salsa, add the required extra acid directly to each hot, empty jar before filling: 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per half-pint or pint jar.
8. 8Ladle the hot salsa into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.
9. 9Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic tool, wipe the rims clean, center the lids, and screw the bands on fingertip tight.
10. 10Process in a boiling-water canner, jars covered by 1 to 2 inches of water, timing from a full rolling boil: 20 minutes for half-pints and pints at 0-1,000 ft, adding 5 minutes at 1,001-3,000 ft, 10 minutes at 3,001-6,000 ft, 15 minutes at 6,001-8,000 ft, or 20 minutes above 8,000 ft.
11. 11Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then move the jars with a jar lifter to a towel-lined counter and let cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
12. 12Press each lid to confirm sealing, label with contents, acid added, and date, and refrigerate any jar that did not seal.
13. 13Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place up to about 1 year; refrigerate after opening and use within about a week.
14. 14Roasting does not change the tomatoes' acidity, so the bottled lemon or lime juice is still required exactly as stated, and onion and pepper must not exceed the amounts listed.