Roasted Tomato, Bell Pepper and Corn Salsa

Tomatos are magic food. They can ward off certain kinds of cancer, keep your eyes in good shape, help maintain your brains as you age, and boost your immune system. The magic properties result from tomatos' secret weapons: lycopene and antioxidants.

Even better, the fruit's magic powers increase when cooked (heat increases antioxidant availability) and since lycopene is fat-soluble, eating tomatos with oil can improve absorption. All this makes my Roasted Tomato, Bell Pepper and Corn Salsa a perfect addition to Sweetnicks weekly antioxidant recipe round-up, ARF/5-a-Day.

To make this salsa, or anything involving cored and seeded tomatos, the tomato shark is an indispensable tool. To take out the stem/core, one quick scoop to the top of your tomato does the trick. Next, to remove the seeds, cut the tomato in half, then scoop the seeds out from each side. You may need a few extra scrapes along the insides to catch a stray seed or two, but the majority will come out in your first try.

Roasted Tomato, Bell Pepper and Corn Salsa
(if you're spicy, add some jalepenos and if ya love raw onions, add those too!)

makes approx. 2 cups

6-7 medium tomatos, halved and seeded
2-3 medium bell peppers, halved (preferably red, yellow or orange)
olive oil
salt and pepper
3 ears of corn, raw kernels cut off
1/2 c. cilantro, roughly chopped
lime juice
chili powder
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the tomatos and bell peppers on it. Douse liberally with olive oil (use your hands to spread the oil across all veggies if necessary) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast tomatos and peppers in oven for 40 minutes. Turn heat up to 400 and roast for an additional 10 minutes to carmelize. Take out of oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a few swirls of olive oil, then add your corn kernels. Stir constantly until kernels start to brown. Remove from heat and put kernels in a large bowl. Set aside.

When tomatos and peppers are cool enough to touch, chop roughly and add to bowl with corn kernels. Mix in the cilantro. Add lime juice, chili powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors mingle. Serve with tortilla chips and a cold beer.