It’s personal. The condiment of choice for a burger or plant-based burger comes down to individual tastes. My informal poll came up split between mayo and mustard. Ketchup was also in the running. Then there are BBQ sauce and jams and all kinds of aiolis. And that’s just the condiments. What we like in addition to a patty on a bun when it comes to burgers is wide and varied; everything from cheese to bacon to avocado to air-fried zucchini!
This flavorful spicy veggie spread is a perfect condiment for a burger. It’s good enough to stand alone but it definitely complements cheese, bacon and other toppings as well. Slow roasting brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes and mellows out the peppers, giving it a deep, complex flavor.
It’s also good spread on crackers or atop eggs, steaks or chicken. You can use any kind of tomato you want – Roma, cherry, homegrown-and you can even use more than one kind in the same batch. If you don’t like the heat or spice of jalapeño peppers, use a milder pepper or even sweet peppers or a mix of peppers.
A large baking sheet full of tomatoes and peppers will end up making only about ½-1 cup of spread, so if you want more, double the recipe and use two baking sheets.
Also, please note, if you haven’t worked with hot peppers before, it’s a good idea to wear gloves when cutting and deseeding. Those little seeds are full of heat and if you handle them with bare hands then happen to touch your face or rub your eyes it will burn.
Oh and one more note: Slow roasting takes time, in this case several hours, but it’s passive time, so you can do other things around the house while the oven is doing its work. If you don’t have time to wait for slow roasting, I suggest skipping this recipe and going with mayo or mustard instead.
Tomato-Jalapeño-Garlic Schmear
Makes ½ to 1 cup
- 1 to 1/12 pounds tomatoes
- Big handful of jalapeño peppers or your favorite hot or sweet peppers, cut in half and seeded
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 entire head of garlic, with top trimmed for roasting
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
Cut the tomatoes in half or quarters if you’re using full-size tomatoes. Spread the tomatoes and peppers evenly on a large, heavy baking sheet. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the head of garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Wrap the garlic completely in foil.
Place the baking sheet and wrapped garlic in oven. Check the garlic after 45 minutes and remove from oven when the garlic is soft. Set aside.
Continue slow roasting the tomatoes and peppers until the tomatoes start to dry out. This may take a few hours depending on your oven. You want them to be very brown but not completely dried out or burned.
Remove from oven. Squeeze the pulp from the garlic head into the middle of the tomatoes and peppers. Add another drizzle or two of olive oil and maybe a bit more salt and pepper. With a knife or fork, smash all the veggies together until they become a soft spreadable mixture.
Taste. It should taste sweet and if you’ve used hot peppers, a little spicy as well. Season with. More oil, salt and pepper as desired.
Store in fridge for up to a week.
