Have you ever been in a food-rut? You’ve cooked chicken, fish and beef for the past few weeks, and have run out of ways to serve it. After using all of your cooking methods, you’ve hit dead-end wall; protein boredom! So, what to do, what to do… You don’t have to drop your chicken, fish, or pork; try a creative accompaniment.
Everyone loves salsa- it’s great on chips, and even better on Mexican food. It’s usually made with ripe tomatoes, sweet onions, cilantro, hot peppers and lime juice. Once these ingredients have macerated for a few hours, the flavors blend together and create a multi-layered taste sensation. What most people don’t know is that there are many variations of salsa. Some are made with tomatoes, while others include fresh mangoes, pineapple, sweet corn and jicama. Besides being good on chips and ethnic foods, these salsas enhance the flavors of fresh fish, chicken, and pork.
Here are a few recipes for non-traditional salsa that are sure to make your lips smack!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 large mangos peeled, then cut into 1/8 inch cubes
1 pineapple, skinned and cut into 1/8 inch small cubes
2 medium sized jicamas peeled, then chopped into 1/8 inch cubes
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 roma tomatoes chopped into small dice
1 large bunch cilantro
3 tablespoons flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 tablespoon organic honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Mix all of the above ingredients together, season and let sit for 1 hour. Serve chilled or cold.
Sweet Corn Salsa with Black Beans and Vine-Ripe Tomatoes
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
6 ears of fresh sweet corn
4 large vine-ripe tomatoes
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 large sweet onion
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 can of organic black beans, drained and washed
1 tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Peel the corn, season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown. Let cool. Cut the kernels of corn off each ear, the combine with the other ingredients. Let stand for at least an hour and serve.
Sweet Pepper and Tomato Salsa with Toasted Pine Nuts
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 large each yellow, red, orange and green peppers, de-seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 cup of toasted pine nuts
6 large vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
½ bunch chopped cilantro
½ cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Toast the pine nuts in a pan until they turn brown- be careful not to burn! Let cool. Combine the remaining ingredients, then let stand for at least one hour. Serve and enjoy!
Don’t forget- you can also make your own tortilla chips too. Simply buy some traditional corn tortillas (try blue corn for some added color), cut them into wedges, and fry in 350 degree vegetable, or peanut oil. Once the tortilla chips have turned golden brown, remove from the hot oil and season with salt and pepper!
Chef Chuck Kerber
pittsburghhotplate.com
chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com
Chuck Kerber, Corporate Executive Chef, Site Author
