salsa Archives - Experimental Epicurean

Aaah, springtime. Warmer weather, fresh buds on the trees, and the start of fresh vegetables and fruits. While still early in the season, one of things I look forward to in April/May is the bounty of fresh strawberries.

The in-season prices mean my whole family devours them at breakfast, and I tinker in the kitchen with a variety of strawberry recipes. One such recipe that I have been making for quite a few years is my Strawberry Salsa. It has been known to peek people’s interest in my cooking adventures and even made others suggest I bottle & sell it.

I think it tastes just perfect with fresh strawberries and I don’t even want to hassle with the regulations regarding bottling . . . . so I hope you make a batch of Strawberry Salsa for yourself to enjoy.

It can be eaten like any other salsa – with tortilla chips – but it is also fantastic as a smothering “dressing” on a spinach and chicken salad.

What do you look forward to with spring?

Strawberry Salsa

1/4 cup white onion

1/8 cup fresh cilantro

12 strawberries (about 2 cups)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/8 cup honey

Red pepper flakes (optional)

To prepare salsa, place onion in food processor, process 30 seconds until onion is finely chopped. Add cilantro and chop for an additional 30 seconds. Add strawberries to food processor and pulse until there are medium chunks of strawberry. Remove from processor, and mix in honey, lime juice, and red pepper flakes, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve; best used within a few days.

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This week we hosted our church small group and the meal theme was taco bar. I was lucky enough to get to prepare one of my favorite things to make – SALSA. When I started cooking, a variety of salsas was what kicked off my kitchen experimenting. So much so, that people started saying, “oh yeah, you’re the salsa lady – I loved the ________ salsa you made last time”.

I love experimenting with salsa because it is so versatile, enabling both vegetables and fruit combos, and eaten with chips or as an entree topper.

My latest salsa is this tomatillo salsa, which starts with a pound or fresh tomatillos that get roasted,

and then blended before stirring in a generous amount of red onion, tomatoes, corn, and garlic (plus a bit of honey to balance the natural tartness of the tomatillos).

The salsa (and the taco bar theme) turned out to be a great hit – next time I plan on making a double batch!

Tomatillo Salsa

1 lb tomatillos, husk removed
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup diced roma tomato
½ cup frozen corn, thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
Set oven to broil and place tomatillos on a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast for 8-10 minutes, turning once, until both sides are slightly charred. Remove from the oven and pulse in a food processor until smooth. Add the pureed tomatillo to a large bowl, and then stir in the honey, salt, onion, tomato, corn, and garlic. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips.

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