Roasted Strawberry and Tomato Salsa

Salsa is a condiment with a lot of versatility. Most are tomato-based, of course, but you can add in all kinds of sweet and savory ingredients to give a simple salsa a whole new flavor twist. One twist that I recently put on my homemade salsa was adding strawberries to the mix. This Roasted Strawberry and Tomato Salsa is not your average salsa and, even though it may sound a little outside-of-the-box at first, it is well worth making.

I roasted the strawberries in the oven alongside some fresh tomatoes. Roasting intensified the flavors of both the tomatoes and the berries, bring out even more natural sweetness. You might not think of strawberries as working in savory dishes, but in this salsa, that sweetness that contrasts with hot and smoky flavor of the chipotle pepper that gives the salsa a little heat. The other flavors in the salsa are fresh lime juice and onion, which both give the salsa a little brightness.

Roasted Strawberry and Tomato Salsa
8-oz strawberries
8 oz cherry tomatoes
1-2 tbsp lime juice
¼ cup onion (1/2 smallish onion)
1-2 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
½ tsp salt
pinch black pepper

Roast strawberries and tomatoes in a 350F oven for 45 minutes. They will be very soft. Allow to cool.
In a food processor, whiz onion and chipotle pepper. Add in lime juice, strawberries, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Pulse several times, until salsa is chopped/blended evenly, but do not let it puree completely.

Chill until ready to serve.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups