The start of May marks Cinco de Mayo and the start of the Summer itch. Students are eager to break free from their studies and families are ready to take time off for vacations… The sun rises earlier and sets later… In my house, we’re ready to use more fresh veggies and lighter fare all-around.

This week I tried some new recipes to skinny dip our tortilla chips into. Today I’m telling you about the roasted Chipotle Tomato Salsa from Food Network Magazine. (Tomorrow, I’ll give you the skinny on a fantastic guacamole recipe using unexpected ingredients.)

This clean-flavored salsa packs a smoky punch. It calls for roasting the tomatoes, onion, and garlic under a broiler until you get a good char on them. Mingling all the ingredients in a blender breaks all the flavors down together. Apple cider vinegar gives the salsa acid while chipotle peppers in adobo give the favorite southwest appetizer smokiness and sizzle.

The only thing I would recommend for this recipe would be to reduce the water called for by half and coarsely chop half the roasted tomatoes rather than blend them if you prefer a chunkier salsa. Also, we ended up doubling the chipotle pepper called for since we desired something spicier!

It was a delightful change-up on a classic! What’s your favorite style of salsa?