Summer is salsa season. Not only is salsa incredibly easy to make, it’s the perfect go-to accompaniment for when the kitchen is too hot to contemplate using your oven or stovetop. Plus, the traditional ingredients―tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and peppers―are at their peak during summer, making it one of the freshest and most delicious dishes you can make.
But this tasty condiment is more than just the chopped-tomato variety commonly served with chips to whet your appetite at the beginning of a meal. You can also use it to balance out or accent certain savory flavors, which is why you’ll often find it accompanying many main dishes, from grilled fish to slow-roasted pork loin. You can also enjoy salsa as a meal in itself, served with rice and beans. Some bold chefs even use it for desserts, creatively marrying chili spices with perky tropical fruits, and serving it atop a soothing sorbet or ice cream, crème brûlée, or flan.
Try some of these delicious non-tomato-based salsas to see if they spark a creative flurry in your kitchen.
Fresh Pineapple Salsa
This is an amazing salsa from the food blog Appogiatura. The writer/cook uses this to top her grilled spicy pork tenderloin tacos.
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple, in small dice
1/2 cup red onion, in small dice
Two jalapeños, seeded, deveined, and minced
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of 1 lime
Whisk the honey and lime juice together beforehand and set aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a medium-size bowl, then pour the honey-lime mixture over the other ingredients. Chill until ready to serve, then toss again before serving.
Onion, Orange, and Beet Salsa
This interesting and colorful salsa, from Epicurious.com, originally appeared in Bon Appétit magazine.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Two beets, boiled, peeled, and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1 large orange, peel and pith cut away, flesh cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped and pitted green Greek olives
The original recipe has this salsa served with a Moroccan spiced lamb burger, but you can easily substitute a grilled leg of lamb that can be made ahead of time and served at room temperature.
