Salsa

I had many requests for the recipe for the salsa I brought to Gardenwife's party, so I am posting the recipe here. This may not be the exact recipe, I change it depending what fresh herbs I have available at that moment, and I don't measure them, I just put in a sprig or 2 medium leaves, or whatever!

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salsa
Corn
4 ears fresh corn or 16 oz frozen corn
3 tbls corn oil
1 fresh green bell pepper
1 fresh red bell pepper
1 dried hot pepper

Heat oven to 450. Spread oil on extra large baking sheet and place in oven until hot. Remove kernels from corn, or thaw frozen corn, clean and dice bell peppers. Add corn and bell peppers to hot oil, stir to coat. Place in hot oven for 10 minutes, then remove and stir, then replace in oven for 5 more minutes. Meanwhile, clean dried hot pepper, removing seeds and inner membrane. Cut into very fine pieces. Add to baking sheet, stirring to coat with oil. Roast another 5 minutes, then remove to cool.

Salsa Base
1/2 lb dried black beans or 2 15-oz cans black beans
1 large onion, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (optional)
1 cup dried cherry tomatoes or 2 fresh paste tomatoes

Place dried beans in saucepan, rinse with water, pick over, then let sit in 1 qt hot water for 30 minutes. Put pan onto stove, bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes, or until softened. Remove from heat, rinse in cold water until clear and cool. If using canned beans, rinse with cool water until water runs clean.

If using dried tomatoes, rehydrate in warm water for 30 minutes, or chop fresh tomatoes into medium chunks.

Add beans and tomatoes to large non-reactive casserole. Add onions and garlic. Add cooled corn mixture. Set aside until dressing, below is complete, then stir well and place in refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days to meld flavors.

This recipe can be canned in pressure cooker: read USDA guidelines for canning black beans. Successfully stores for up to 1 year.

Dressing
1 tablespoon canning salt or kosher salt
1/3 cup corn oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
juice from 1 lime or 3 tablespoons bottled lime juice
juice from 1 lemon or 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 tsp whole cumin seed
3 sprigs fresh lemon thyme or orange balsam thyme
3 sprigs fresh summer savory
4 sprigs fresh lemon basil
8 sprigs fresh cilantro (more or less to taste)
2 sprigs Mexican oregano
1/4 cup sugar

Cut or mince leafy herbs into small pieces. Place oil salt and minced herbs in food processor, add salt. Process briefly. Add citrus juices and process. While processor is running, add vinegar in a thin stream until emulsified. Add sugar, process briefly. Pour over salsa.

Yield: About 2 qts