Campfire Salsa

Since our Tucson trip last month, I'd been dying to make a salsa using a good molcajete (the traditional Mexican mortar and pestle). What better time to make salsa than on a camping trip? You can roast the tomatoes and peppers over the fire and with a molcajete, clean up is a breeze! Just rinse with water, no soap. When buying a molcajete, be sure to choose one of quality, made from lava. The porous rock absorbs flavors and helps to season future salsas and guacamoles. So here's a very simple recipe for salsa that we used on our camping trip. Of course, you could make salsa without a molcajete, but many claim that this tool is essential to getting the correct slightly chunky texture.

vegetable oil
2 jalapeno peppers (use less or more for your heat preference)
2 cloves garlic
4 plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons, finely chopped white onion
1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
salt to taste

special equipment needed:
molcajete

Lightly coat the peppers and tomatoes with the oil.
Roast the serrano and jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes, turning so that all sides char.
Remove the peppers and tomatoes from heat and remove the skin, using a bowl of cold water. If you desire a less spicy salsa, remove the seeds and white pith from the peppers.
Crush the peppers and garlic together in the molcajete.
Add the tomatoes one at a time and mash until the consistency desired is achieved. Lastly add the onion and cilantro. Mash slightly to mix in.
Serve straight from the molcajete.

Makes about 2 cups of salsa.