Don’t let the summer fly away without making some homemade salsas! Fresh fruit and veggies at farmers markets and grocery stores right now are perfect for salsa recipes. This month, I’m featuring salsas of all kinds: savory, sweet, fruity, green, and red.
Hello and welcome! If you like tacos, kimchi, seasonal produce, and bright flavors, you’re in the right place. For those who are new, I’m Betty, a food writer, recipe developer, home cook, and Southern California gal.
Every Friday in this newsletter, I help you plan meals with California Cuisine recipes to inspire you, no matter where you live in the world. California is the most ethnically diverse state in the U.S. and is home to many peeps from Asia, South America, and the Mediterranean. The cuisine here reflects that and is a beautiful mash-up of flavors!
Other places to find me: my food blog, podcast, YouTube, and Instagram.
I grew up eating “Mexican salsa” sold in a shelf-stable jar that my mother purchased from the military commissary. It was devoured in our house with salty round tortilla chips, and I loved it, even if it did taste like vinegary cooked tomato with spongy pieces of onion and green bell pepper.
When I was a teenager, our family moved to Texas, and I discovered freshly made salsa. It was vibrant! Zingy! Delicious! So much brighter and fresher than what I was used to eating. While the rest of the U.S. was eating jarred salsa, all the border states (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California) knew what was up when it came to Mexican-style salsa, and they were eating the real deal.
Salsa in Mexico comes in so many varied forms, but is typically made with fresh vegetables like tomato, onion, tomatillos, chili peppers, or avocado, and dressed with fresh lime and salt. Later in the month, we will talk more about Salsa Verde (green salsa) and Salsa Roja (red salsa), and I can’t wait to share them, along with input from some salsa experts.
Today, we are focusing on savory fruit salsas! Even though salsas made with fruit have been enjoyed in South America for centuries, fruit salsas have only been popular in the U.S. since the late 1980s-early 1990s. They have become one of my favorite types of salsas to make, especially in summertime.
Best fruits for salsa: mango, nectarine, peach, pineapple, strawberry, and watermelon. These are all juicy but dice well into small pieces without becoming mushy.
Fresh is best. Fresh ripe fruit will give you a nicer texture and flavor than frozen fruit that has been thawed.
Choose firm fruit. While you want the fruit to be ripe, don’t choose ones that are overly ripe and soft. The flesh needs to be firm enough to hold its shape when diced.
Include some veggies. Onions, mild or spicy pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado are all nice additions.
Keep it uniform. I try to keep the diced pieces around the same size so that each spoonful a balance of everything.
Add some heat. Fresh hot chili peppers to include: jalapeno (hot), serrano (hotter), and habanero (burn-your-lips-off hot).
Add acid. Fresh lime juice is a must! That and salt is really all you need to dress the salsa.
Juicy, savory, sweet, and slightly spicy! Peach Salsa is a perfect sweet-hot garnish to enjoy with tacos, grilled meats, and fish. It’s just ripe peaches, tomato, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and lime. So easy and delish with crispy tortilla chips!
While the peaches bring the sweetness, jalapenos bring the heat! It really is a delicious pairing. And if your peaches are ripe, you can easily peel off their thin, fuzzy skins without blanching them in a hot water bath. This might vary depending on the peach variety you use.
Some tips:
I’ve made this salsa with nectarines, and it worked very well. I did not peel them since nectarine skins are smooth and edible, but you can peel them if desired.
Adjust the amount and kind of peppers to your taste! This salsa is also delicious made with serranos (hotter) and habaneros (very hot!). You choose what your tongue and tummy can handle.
Fresh cilantro is a must. If you have issues with cilantro going bad quickly and turning slimy and liquid brown in your veggie drawer, please watch my YouTube video on how to keep it fresh.
If you can’t get enough of fruity salsas, try my Pineapple Salsa and Mango Salsa.
Dishes that are delicious with savory fruit salsas include Baja Seafood Bake, Poke Tacos, Slow-roasted Salmon, and Grilled Steak and Rice Bowls.
Have you signed up yet for my kimchi-making class? It’s happening on Friday, August 21, at 12 noon Pacific/3 pm Eastern.
I’ll be sharing a fermentation primer (you’ll learn the difference between pickling and fermenting), and doing a hands-on workshop where you’ll learn to make a quick-pickled cucumber kimchi and fermented cabbage kimchi.
This class is part of the CookStack Collective monthly cooking classes. The CookStack Collective brings together 12 talented Substack food writers and recipe developers (including myself!) for an entire year of lively, seasonal cooking classes.
Each month, paid subscribers have access to a live Zoom class hosted by a featured cook, plus receive fresh recipes, class materials, and the chance to cook along and ask questions in real time. This also includes access to all 12 class recordings, so watch/rewatch whenever it suits you.
If you’re on the fence about a paid subscription, now is a great time to upgrade! It’s $5 per month or $50 per year (yes, you get 2 months free!). See the complete list of paid goodies in the Premium Content Library.
Have you had fruit salsa? If so, what is your favorite kind? Let me know in the comments!
Coming next week: a super fun, super summery Dinner Party Menu that Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack and I have put together for you! See you next Friday.
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