Summer has officially begun and with it comes the abundance South Valley has to offer. These products greatly influence the way my summer cooking takes shape and inspire me to use them in new and different ways. This week, I put a new spin on a summer party staple: chips and salsa.
Tomatoes are at the base of most salsa recipes. While salsas made from tomatoes are very traditional, fruit-base salsas are increasing in popularity.
Recently, I assisted my sister, Stacy, with catering appetizers for a local event where many in attendance were local farmers. We were fortunate that a few attendees provided a bounty of locally grown ingredients. With the farmers wonderful support and contributions, my sister’s options were almost limitless for what she could create.
One of the products Stacy requested was a flat of strawberries. One idea she had for the strawberries was a strawberry salsa. It was to be a unique addition to complement a traditional tomato salsa and guacamole. To successfully create a strawberry salsa, my sister did some research. After much consideration, analyzing flavor profiles and a little experimentation, she created her own strawberry salsa recipe, which I share with you this week. While she enjoyed the results of the recipe and would not change it, she mentioned that fresh mango or peaches may be added for additional color and flavor.
Peaches are another seasonal fruit that make a wonderful salsa. Peaches are native to Asia and inspire the use of ginger and rice wine vinegar in my Peach Salsa. Nectarines may be used too.
Serve these salsas with good quality tortilla chips. My families favorite tortilla chip are at Gilroy’s Mi Pueblo Market. Other similar stores with mini tortilla factories may have in-house made tortilla chips too. Tortilla chips are good out of the bag, but serve them warm by heating the tortilla chips in a 350 degree oven for five to seven minutes.
Strawberry Salsa
Ingredients
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined
• 1/4 cup red onion, peeled and rough chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Step 1: Slice 3/4 of strawberries into a fine dice and set aside.
Step 2: Add the jalapeno, red onion and cilantro to a food processor and pulse until everything is chopped very fine, scraping the sides of the processor bowl occasionally. Add the remaining 1/4 whole strawberries, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt to the processor bowl and pulse to mix all ingredients until a strawberry puree begins to form, but remains chunky.
Step 3: Add the processed strawberry mixture to the reserved diced strawberries and toss to combined. Refrigerate to chill at least one hour.
Peach Salsa
Ingredients
• 3 to 4 large peaches
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and deveined
• 1/2 medium red onion, peeled and cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, packed
• 1 inch ginger root, grated
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Step 1: Remove the pits and peels from the peaches. Cut the peaches into a quarter inch dice and rough chop 1/4 of the quantity. Place the jalapeno, red onion cilantro and ginger in a food processor. Pulse until everything becomes a fine chop, scraping the work bowl every few pulses.
Step 2: Add the rough chopped peach, honey, rice wine vinegar and kosher salt to the food processor. Continue to pulse the food processor until everything is thoroughly mixed and the peach is semi pureed.
Step 3: Add the contents of the food processor to the diced peaches and stir until everything is fully incorporated. Chill at least one hour.
