Cilantro, A Cool Weather Crop – Chipotle Salsa

I used to think of cilantro as a hot weather crop. That’s because it is ubiquitous in food from the Tropics; sprinkled over Thai dishes; an essential component of Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches; the base of some Indian chutneys; and I wouldn’t make Mexican guacamole without it. But cilantro does terribly in the garden in the hot, humid weather of the summer. When it’s warm, it grows fast, becomes long and leggy, and bolts (flowers and goes to seed) quickly. I have to plant it every two to three weeks in late spring and summer to ensure that I have leaves available to use in the kitchen.

It took me years to realize that cilantro is a cool weather crop. (In the tropics it grows during the cooler dry season.) Many years ago I noticed that cilantro planted in late summer lasted well into the fall, and sometimes into the early winter if we escaped a hard freeze. It was the best cilantro I could grow. Even then, the plants stayed alive through the winter, albeit not useable in the kitchen. In early spring, the late summer-sowed plants would grow anew and provide me with a limited supply of cilantro before other herbs and vegetables were harvestable in the garden. (I also allow some cilantro plants in my garden to grow to maturity and bolt so I can harvest seeds to plant the following spring. Some seeds inevitably fall into the soil and sprout on their own.)

The other day – it’s mid-March – when I was out in the garden planting peas, I noticed there was enough cilantro that I could remove it from my shopping list. (This is great, because during this COVID-19 pandemic I’m not doing a whole lot of shopping.) Last year’s plants had begun to grow again, despite the chilly weather.

I started to think of ways in which I could use my spring harvest of cilantro. It’s always great as a garnish. There’s not really enough at this time of year to puree it into a chutney. I did have a handful of sad-looking winter grape tomatoes sitting on the counter, but they would never make a pico de gallo (fresh tomato salsa) as good as one with fresh summer tomatoes. I also had a can of chipotle chilies in the pantry. Perfect. I would roast the tomatoes (along with onion, garlic, and a fresh jalapeño) to concentrate their sweetness, and combine them with a couple of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and of course a handful of cilantro, to make a spicy, smoky salsa. Delicious on chicken tacos or steak tacos, or simply with a handful of tortilla chips. A great use of a pantry item during this time of crisis and a great use of the early spring cilantro growing in my garden.

Chipotle Salsa

This salsa, as with all salsas, is very forgiving. Ingredients can be left out or substituted if needed. Use lemon instead of lime. Maybe a shallot or scallion can replace the onion. A piece of roasted red or green pepper can replace the jalapeño if it’s not available, and the salsa would only suffer from being less spicy. If you don’t have chipotles, leave them out. You will still make a perfectly delicious roasted tomato salsa.

A warning: this salsa, with both chipotle peppers (dried, smoked jalapeños) and fresh jalapeños, can be quite spicy. Tone it down, if you wish, by removing the seeds and white membrane of the fresh pepper (or using roasted red or green bell pepper) and using one less chipotle.

Makes about 1 cup, 15 minutes, plus cooling time

15 – 20 cherry or grape tomatoes, or 2 – 3 plum tomatoes

1 fresh jalapeño pepper

½ medium onion, peeled and cut into two wedges

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from a can), plus 1 Tbsp. adobo sauce (store the remainder in a glass jar in the refrigerator for another use)

small handful cilantro

¼ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

juice from ½ lime

1. Raise oven rack to its highest position and turn on broiler.
2. Line a small, shallow, metal sheet pan, roasting pan, or pie pan with aluminum foil. (Do not use glass, as it cannot withstand the direct heat of broiling.) Place tomatoes, jalapeño, onion, and garlic on the pan, place on the top rack, and broil until vegetables begin to char, maybe four or five minutes. Watch them carefully; allow to blacken a little and soften, but not burn. Flip vegetables so they char on other side under the broiler. Different vegetables will cook at different rates. As each type of vegetable finishes cooking, remove from pan or cover with aluminum foil so others can finish cooking.
3. When all vegetables are done, remove pan from oven and allow vegetables to cool.
4. Remove stem from the jalapeño, and place half of it, along with the other roasted vegetables and any juices on the pan, into a blender or food processor. Add chipotles, adobo, cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Blend to a smooth puree.
5. Taste the salsa with a tortilla chip and adjust to your liking. It may need the other half of the roasted jalapeño, more salt or lime juice, or more cilantro. Add water a tablespoonful at a time and blend if you want a thinner consistency.

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