Can anyone resist a big crunchy pile of chips and a bright red bowl of salsa?

I can’t.

It’s my weakness; I find the crunchy saltiness of the chips and the spicy sloppiness of the cool salsa irresistible.

Like everything else, I have been on the hunt for that perfect version.

This doctored-up Rick Bayless recipe comes darn close. It’s really better the next day too.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of plum tomatoes

3 jalapeño peppers, stemmed

1 medium white onion, sliced into thin rings

4 fat cloves of garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

The juice of 4 limes (maybe 5)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (about 1 loosely packed cup)

1 small white onion, minced

Salt to taste

How to prepare:

1. Turn on your oven’s broiler.

2. While the broiler is heating up, spread the tomatoes and the jalapeño peppers out on a cookie sheet. Do not brush them with any oil. Broil them until their skins are blackened in spots and blistered in some parts. Turn the tomatoes and peppers throughout the cooking to make sure that all their sides are evenly colored. Remove the pan from the oven and let everything cool.

3. Set the oven to 425°. Spread the onions out on another cookie sheet, separating the rings. Tuck the garlic underneath the onions and roast in the oven until the onions are soft and starting to brown.

4. Using a food processor, process the onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes together.

5. In a large bowl, combine the processed mixture with the remaining ingredients. You may want to add more lime juice, depending on how it tastes. Adjust the seasoning and serve.