Description
A flavorful roasted tomato dipping sauce perfect for pairing with beef empanadas, corn chips, vegetable sticks, or bread. This sauce combines roasted tomatoes and garlic with aromatic spices and fresh green onions for a deliciously smooth and slightly tangy complement to your snack or meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 medium tomatoes (125g/4oz each), cut in half and core removed
- 2 garlic cloves, whole and peeled
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne or pure chili (not US chili powder mix)
- 1/8 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp lime juice (substitute with lemon juice or vinegar if desired)
- 2 tbsp sliced green onion
Serving Suggestion
- Beef empanadas
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 220°C (425°F), or 200°C if using a fan-assisted oven, to prepare for roasting the tomatoes and garlic.
- Roast Tomatoes and Garlic: In a bowl, toss the halved tomatoes and whole garlic cloves with the olive oil. Place the tomatoes cut side up on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes to bring out their rich flavor.
- Continue Roasting Garlic: Add the garlic cloves to the same tray and roast everything for another 15 minutes, until the tomato edges are browned and the garlic is soft and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool on the tray.
- Blend the Sauce: Transfer the roasted tomatoes and garlic to a container that fits the head of your stick blender. Add ground cumin, cayenne, white sugar, cooking salt, and lime juice. Blitz for about 5 seconds until smooth.
- Add Green Onion: Add the sliced green onion to the blended sauce and blitz briefly again until the onion is finely chopped and incorporated.
- Serve: Serve this roasted tomato dipping sauce alongside beef empanadas, or as a dip for corn chips, vegetable sticks, or bread for a tasty appetizer or snack.
Notes
- You can substitute lime juice with lemon juice or vinegar, depending on what you have available.
- Use pure chili powder rather than chili powder mixes to avoid unwanted flavors or salt.
- Roasting intensifies the tomato and garlic flavors and adds a subtle smoky note to the sauce.
- This sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Adjust cayenne to your heat tolerance for a milder or spicier sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Latin American
Keywords: empanada dipping sauce, roasted tomato sauce, Latin American sauce, spicy tomato dip, garlic tomato sauce
