Roasted Tomato Salsa & Spicy Chipotle Salmon Spread

We ate our Superbowl meal last night!! It was awesome. I started out trying my new recipes I had planned, but then it led to, “Mmmmm, can you make more?” So I did, and we sat and ate like there was no tomorrow. (Forgetting all scriptures that talk about gluttony and justifying it because it was “healthy”) Anyone else been there? 

The samplers on the menu were Roasted Tomato Salsa (the easiest salsa ever) and Chipotle Salmon Spread with organic chips (Garden of Eatin’). Both these recipes were adapted from Tyler Florence’s cookbook, Tyler’s Ultimate. I like this particular cookbook of his because it has simple recipes that I can adjust easily to our healthy way of eating. Remember our “examine and exchange” method/mindset? Go here to get a refresher. 

Tyler’s Ultimate Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes (I used grape)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

Juice of 1 lime (I increased the amount for flavor)

1 fresh green chile, thinly sliced (I used 2 jalapenos, quartered and sliced)

This is so easy and ready in less than 15 minutes. Turn your broiler on high and place the 2 pints tomatoes on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Tyler said broil 3-5 minutes, mine was 7-8 minutes, so keep checking every couple of minutes until all tomatoes have burst. Dump tomatoes and juices in a bowl. Add lime juice, chile, cilantro and about 4 tablespoons olive oil. You’ll probably need to add more salt so taste and adjust. 

Combine. Serve at room temperature.

When I first made it, the three of us liked it and were eating it happily. Then when my husband came home, he wasn’t enamored with it, and suggested more jalapeno. I am a scaredy cat when it comes to hot stuff but I have to say, he was right! It was so much better with more spice (2 jalapenos), not enough to burn your lips off, but enough to spice your throat. So adjust your jalapeno accordingly, or use hotter peppers, but go for more heat than less. 

Like I said, this is the easiest salsa ever; you don’t even have to cut up the tomatoes. Get yourself some organic chips (or baked chips like Tostitos, if necessary) and enjoy! 

The other recipe was from Tyler’s The Ultimate Spicy Crab Salad. Obviously, he uses crab which I always exchange for canned salmon. I know, not as decadent, but a much healthier choice. Tomorrow I’ll have a link to explain Why Canned Salmon? 

Tyler calls for Sambal hot chile paste which I did not have nor could find locally. So instead I used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. It was outstanding! It gave the usual salmon flavor a new twist that was good enough for company, thus Superbowl. I would say good enough for people who aren’t even salmon lovers . The adobo sauce does have a miniscule amount of sugar, less than 1 gram, but that is worth the trade-off for the flavor it gives. (I would not make the trade if it were high fructose corn syrup though.) For more on chipotle, click here.

Spicy Chipotle Salmon Spread

15 oz. canned salmon (drained, broken to smaller pieces)

¼ cup mayonnaise 

1-2 chipotle peppers with some sauce (finely mashed)

1-2 tbls. chopped cilantro

Juice of ½ lime

Freshly ground pepper (no salt, already in salmon)

Combine the mayo and chipotle first. Gently combine the rest. This takes less than 5 minutes and you have a snack which is full of omega-3’s in a good lean protein. You can even make your own mayo to provide you with better oil and no preservatives. 

Last night we had this with the organic corn chips, but for Sunday I am making whole wheat crackers found at Finding Joy in My Kitchen and for my daughter, a gluten-free variety.

Along with these dishes we had potato salad (recipe another day), roasted cauliflower and whole carrots, cooked like this. We picked up whole thin organic carrots with their tops attached at the health food store. (Confession: I bought these simply because they were so cute.) I would gladly buy them again though because in 15 minutes we had delectably tender whole carrots that we just picked up and ate with our hands. (Remember we were practicing for Superbowl.) The tops I cut off before roasting and am using in other herb dishes, like our eggs this morning. 

So all in all, we had a feast that took cleaning up afterward longer than actually making it. Oh yeah, strawberries for dessert. Wow, we really did pig out…

What are your healthy plans for Superbowl?

Edited: I have a great article from my husband on the nutritional benefits of salmon here.