Roasted Poblano Salsa with Dark Chocolate

I have been on a salsa making kick for nearly three weeks now, and as I have made been making, or should I say experimenting, with salsas for a number of years, I believe I have locked into three recipes that are now my go to salsas. I might even call them sauces, because they can go either way. Store bought salsa is no longer allowed in my house because they just do not compare to simple ingredients that yield such a better flavor. Freshness is also the key. So as I perfected what I call my red, and my green salsas, I thought I would experiment with a chili you normally never see being used in salsa, and that is the poblano chile.

The image above is the poblano salsa served with pulled pork stuffed rolls.

Poblano peppers are probably the mildest of peppers, much like a green pepper, and have fairly thick walls, and which are typically roasted, stuffed, and made into chile rellenos. I was probably thinking of chile rellenos when I began thinking of making this salsa, that, or probably making a mole. But let me just say whatever I was thinking, I was on the right track because this poblano salsa with dark chocolate was a really great hit. Not just great for dunking nice tortilla chips in, but also great with eggs in the morning, or spooned over grilled chicken.

Lets get started.

Ingredients:

• 3 large poblano peppers, washed
• 5 cloves of garlic, skin on
• 2 serrano chile peppers
• 1 roma tomato
• 1/4 cup of dark chocolate, grated
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tbsp salt

I am a big believer in cast iron, so if you have a large cast iron skillet, get it out, and place the poblano peppers, garlic, tomato, and serrano chile peppers. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, you could lightly oil them and place on a baking sheet under a broiler and begin roasting them.

You want everything blackened for the most part. The serrano peppers will roast first, then the garlic, tomato, and then the poblano peppers. Once all sides of the vegetables are roasted, simply remove them and get them into a blender or food processor. Please remove the skins of the garlic before placing them in the blender.

Once the poblano peppers have charred, remove them and place them in a paper bag, or ziplock bag. This will allow them to steam a bit so you can easily remove the outer skin. It is important that you do that. So after about ten minutes of being in the bag, remove them, and carefully remove the skin. Take your thumb near the stem of the poblano and push in, pushing back the stem and exposing the seeds. Remove all of the seeds and discard the stem. Do this for all of the poblano peppers.

Once all of the vegetables have been added to the blender, add in the dark chocolate. Put the cover on the blender and give it a quick pulse.

Next add in the water and salt. Cover and pulse about 8-10 times, or until you desired consistency. Place in a jar, seal, and store in the refrigerator to chill.

When you are ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and serve however you like. It can pretty much go with anything, but is really great with chicken, chips, or eggs.

I gave a jar to one of my neighbors and he said he loved it. I loved it. My wife loved it. It must be good. Try roasting these poblanos and let me know what you think. Enjoy!