Smoky Grilled Salsa - Chevy's Knock Off

This smoky grilled salsa is a crowd pleaser and tastes a lot like the salsa at Chevy's Fresh Mex! 

My husband travels a bit for work, as do I. When people envision work travel, some think it's a bit glamorous. Jet setting, eating fancy dinners, staying in hotels and sleeping in late. The travel that my husband and I do couldn't be farther from that picturesque vision of work travel. (And this grilled salsa is the proof!) 

We both cover a Midwestern territory, and might drive for 7 hours through mostly cornfields to get to our meetings. Honestly, it's not that bad once you get used to it. I use the time to catch up on podcasts and listen to e-books, and have actually learned to enjoy it! 

The hardest part of it for me is the lack of food choices. Fast food dominates in small towns, and I absolutely detest it. It's not a treat when it's your only choice. And my husband feels the same. But, after his last trip to Nebraska, he came back all excited about salsa he had at a chain restaurant, Chevy's Fresh Mex.

I laughed at him a bit, but fully understood why he'd be excited to find a Chevy's restaurant among the typical limited food options. He said the food was so-so, but he LOVED their smoky grilled salsa, and wanted to try to recreate it.

I love a smoky and peppery salsa, so I was game for the challenge. We researched some recipes and set to grilling! The tomatoes, onions and peppers were all thrown directly on the grill. You want to grill until each vegetable is a little wilted. A good sign is that the skin begins to blister, and you want to achieve a good char.

Once the veggies are grilled (8-10 minutes), remove from the grill and let them cool a bit. Moisture will seep out of them, especially the tomatoes. You'll want to discard this excess moisture before you throw the stems and onion skin away, then blend the salsa and add spices! Pretty easy, and a good way to make extra use of the grill when you fire it up for dinner! 

If you love this grilled salsa, you should definitely try my Hatch Green Chile Salsa Verde!

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Recipe

Smoky Grilled Salsa (Chevy's Knock Off Recipe)

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 lbs fresh roma tomatoes
• 1 large onion, halved
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Brush tomatoes, cut side of onions and peppers with olive oil. Grill over open flame for 8-10 minutes, until well charred and tomatoes are blistered.
2. Remove and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then drain any liquid that has seeped out of the tomatoes.
3. Remove stems and onion peel, discard.
4. Place tomatoes, onions, jalapeno pepper, and all remaining ingredients into blender, quickly blend until it reaches the thickness you prefer.
5. Add in cilantro, black pepper, salt, garlic, cumin and stir.
6. Quickly blend until you reach consistency desired.
7. Pour into container and chill before serving.

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