Fast food, episode VIII

I tried out a new recipe for Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew recently. It was fantastic* but took a lot longer than expected (I'm working on streamlining it a bit). While everyone was waiting for the sweet potatoes to finally be cooked through, Cassie browsed recipes for some kind of artichoke dip to make as an appetizer, but we were out of one ingredient or another for all of them. To keep the hungry crowd at bay, I whipped up this dip I had just seen in Joe Yonan's new Cool Beans cookbook. He calls it "Fastest-Ever Smoky Red Salsa." But Brad, Cass, and Mom all say it's the best salsa ever, so I edited the name to reflect that.

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*But that's another episode.

Best-Ever Smoky Red Salsa

Adapted from Cool Beans (2020) by Joe Yonan

Time: <10 minutes

If you're not wild about the flavor of raw garlic, zap the garlic clove, unpeeled, in the microwave for 10 seconds before peeling and mincing it.

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
¼ cup packed (10 grams) cilantro leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced (see note)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon (15 grams) freshly squeezed lime juice

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. It works fine in a full-sized food processor, but the recipe is small so your best options, if you have any of these things, are: a mini insert for your food processor; a mini food processor; or the chopper attachment of an immersion blender (which is what I use). Pulse until combined but still slightly chunky, just a few pulses. Taste and adjust flavor with more adobo sauce, salt, and/or lime juice as needed. Makes about 2 cups.