Summer is such a fun time for food. Fresh in-season fruit and vegetables abound, not hot-house grown, not imported from Mexico/Peru/some other southern country. The taste is SO MUCH BETTER. It is like your taste buds have been given a wake up call.
In honor of the season and the freshly available produce in the local markets, I will be writing some new recipes that I’ve been enjoying or will be enjoying in the next few weeks.
I never thought fruit could be made into a salsa, but about a year ago, I saw a recipe for cantaloupe salsa and I’ve been sold ever since. I realize that a tomato is technically a fruit. But it isn’t generally too sweet. I guess it is the sweet factor that threw me off.
These days and by these days, I mean hot, hot summer days (seriously it was 104 yesterday and I don’t live in Arizona!), there’s nothing like eating grilled salmon – I like to keep it simple with just some salt, freshly ground pepper and a squirt of lemon or lime – with a side of fruit salsa. May be over orzo or even just plain rice. Some fresh crisp green salad with a light Italian vinaigrette. Finish with an apple pie a la mode or a piece of blueberry cake. Oh, heaven!
I’m sure mango peach salsa isn’t a new idea, but it is new to me. I first made this a week ago because I didn’t have any cantaloupe, but I had plenty of mangos and peaches. I decided to just put it together (without Googling!) and I got rave reviews from both D and S. Something about the slight sour and tangy flavor of a peach balanced out the sweetness of the mango.
Well, last night I had some peaches that really needed to be eaten (NEVER leave out fruit when it is going to be 104 degrees). I was already planning on grilling salmon. I had left-over PW’s Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Salad. Perfect!
For grilled salmon, I, first lightly coated the top with olive oil. Then I sprinkled a generous amount of sea-salt and freshly ground pepper. I squeezed some lime juice because I happened to have a half left from the salsa. Then D grilled on top of a cedar grilling plank. It gives the salmon a subtle “smoked” flavor even though we’re using a gas grill.
Now, I can’t remember if I added some jalapeno pepper the first time. I didn’t even think to add it this time, but I bet a little bit of jalapeno would add a nice kick. Anyway, this time, I took note of measurement so here it is!
Mango and Peach Salsa
Time: 15 mins
Serving: 4
Ingredients
1 ripe mango
2 medium-sized peaches
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1/2 lime
1 dash of salt
Directions
Slice mango around the pit. Be sure to avoid getting too close to the pit because the flesh around the pit is stringy. Peel the skin, dice into 1/2 inch pieces and add to a medium bowl
Slice the peaches around the pit, peel, dice and add to the bowl.
Add the red onion and cilantro. Squeeze in 1/2 lime juice. Add a dash of salt and mix gently.
Serve immediately with some tortilla chips immediately or refrigerate no more than a couple of hours. Or just eat it by the spoonful like my daughter. I like mine generously heaped over salmon.
I made this for a party recently to eat with tortilla chips. This was a very easy and delicious recipe to make.
It was a hit at the party, I had to refill the bowl in 10 minutes! I precut the fruits and kept them in separate containers to save time.