Sign Up for the Recipe Publishing Newsletter
Habanero Pineapple Salsa Recipe
If you are familiar with habanero peppers, then chances are that you have a healthy respect for this potent pepper, even if you count yourself as a fan of its fiery, floral, and fruity character. While it is indeed a very flavorful (and delicious) pepper, it is simply much hotter than many people care to eat.
However, it is actually pretty easy to prepare a habanero in a way, which blunts the searing heat of the pepper and allows the floral and tropical fruit flavors to truly shine through. All you need to do is to remove the seeds and the heat level of the habanero is greatly reduced. It still has a kick; it is just not as overpowering as before.
In this habanero pineapple salsa recipe, the flavor of the habanero pepper is complimented by the fruity sweetness of pineapple along with a couple of ingredients which most of us don't think of as salsa components: molasses, thyme and allspice, all of which are more common in Caribbean cuisine and often appear in dishes along with habanero or its close relative, the Scotch Bonnet.
Caribbean-Style Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients -
1 pineapple, peeled and chopped (roughly 2 cups)
Juice of 2 limes
3 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp molasses
2 scallions, sliced
1habanero pepper, deseeded and minced
1 teaspoon thyme (fresh if possible, otherwise dried is fine)
½ teaspoon ground allspice
Salt, to taste
Preparation:
Like all of the best salsas, this habanero pineapple salsa recipe is easy to make and very rewarding in terms of taste. However, you should take care when dealing with the habanero pepper used in this recipe; it tends to stick around on your hands, cutting boards and other surfaces longer than you would expect. Make sure to wash your hands, utensils, cutting board and anything else that you have used with the habanero promptly after using to be on the safe side.
This Caribbean style salsa makes a terrific accompaniment to just about any Caribbean or Mexican dish as well as just about any seafood, chicken or other meat dishes that you enjoy with a truly spicy kick along with a bit of sweetness added. In the case of most salsas, it is possible to adjust the heat level to meet your personal level of tolerance for fiery peppers - but with this salsa, there is only so much you can reduce the heat, so it is not for those who cannot take even a little heat in their salsa.
This is a recipe, which is well worth making, even if you have never tried habanero peppers before. You may just be surprised at how much you enjoy the flavor and the heat of these peppers - and this particular habanero pineapple salsa recipe makes a great introduction to this too infrequently used (at least in the US) pepper.
