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Michigan Cherry Salsa
Salsa is an incredibly popular condiment and is available in a staggering number of different varieties. While its inarguable that most salsa bought in shops or made at home is still of the standard tomato salsa type, there are a lot of other possibilities in terms of salsa recipes; including fruit salsas of all kinds.
Among the many different fruits you will find turning up in salsas, cherries are one of the more unusual; but also one of the tastiest. Generally, the cherries used in cherry salsas are of the sour variety (they are actually still sweet, but less so than sweet cherries and with a bit more acidity as well).
While you could use sweet cherries for this Michigan cherry salsa recipe, sour cherries are much more well suited thanks to their slightly lower sugar content and pleasant tartness. Even more so, than some other types of fruit salsa, the cherries work with the other ingredients to make something unique while still managing to retain their own flavor and character.
Sweet and Spicy Cherry Salsa
Ingredients -
2 ½ cups (about 1 lb) sour cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
½ small or medium red onion, diced
2 jalapeno or Serrano peppers, minced
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped fine
2 tsp sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Preparation:
This is an incredibly easy recipe to make; that is, at least once you are done pitting the cherries. This can be a time consuming task, though there are devices made for pitting cherries and olives, which make quick work of pitting. Once this is done, simply chop the cherries, vegetables and herbs, add the lime juice, sugar, and salt, and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Allow the salsa to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour for the flavors to develop and blend before serving.
This salsa is exceptionally good served with meats (especially duck, venison, and pork) as well as with all the usual Mexican dishes and of course, as a dip with tortilla chips. Tangy, a little sweet and plenty spicy, this is a salsa which goes surprisingly well with almost anything. You may find yourself looking for excuses to make this salsa recipe, especially during the summer when sour cherries are in abundance.
