Instructions: In this salsa, roasting focuses the tomatoes sweetness and rounds out the typical green grassiness of fresh chilies, creating perfect harmony.

Roast the tomatoes on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until theyre darkly roasted (theyll be blackened in spots), about 6 minutes. Flip them over and roast the other side; 5 to 6 minutes more will give you splotchy-black and blistered tomatoes that are soft and cooked through. Cool.

Working over the baking sheet, pull and discard the blackened skins; for round tomatoes, cut the hard cores where the stems were attached.

Roast the chilies and garlic in a dry skillet or on a griddle over medium heat, turning them occasionally, until they are soft and darkened in places, about 5 minutes for the chilies, 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool, then slip the papery skins off the garlic.

Either crush the roasted garlic and chilies to a smooth paste in a mortar or chop them to a near-paste in a food processor. If using a mortar, crush in the tomatoes one at a time, working them into a coarse puree. For a food processor, add the tomatoes and pulse to achieve a coarse puree.

Scoop the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Shake to remove the excess moisture.

Transfer the salsa to a bowl, stir in the onion and cilantro and season with salt, usually a generous 1/2 teaspoon. Thin with a little water (usually about 2 tablespoons to give a spoonable consistency). Perk it all up with vinegar or lime, if you wish.

Advance preparation: Once the onion and cilantro have been added to the salsa, it should be eaten within a few hours. Without onion and cilantro, the refrigerated salsa base keeps for several days, though the flavors will dull.

Note: WEAR GLOVES when handling fresh, canned, dried or pickled chilies; the oils can cause a burning sensation on your skin.

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