Simple Recipes: Fruit Salsa

Winter is here, and that means it is getting very cold out. Living on South Campus this year has been great until now, when evening trips to the Marsh Dining Hall have become brutal tests of endurance in the cold. This major obstacle has forced me into my kitchen more and more over the past few weeks. Additionally, my roommates seem to all have been struck by some kind of Super-Cold, the kind that wakes them up coughing at 5:00am and leads to horrible sneezing fits whenever a slight draft comes in under the door.

My recent spurt of cooking and fear of catching this horrid illness combined last week to produce a concoction that proved to be delicious, healthy and tropical enough to remind me that winter won't last forever. Inspired by the traditional tomato salsa I was taught to make at Agave Mexican Bistro, in Newburyport, MA, here is my recipe for a great homemade fruit salsa:

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:
1 Whole Pineapple
1 Pint Strawberries
1 Red Onion
4 Jalapeno Peppers
1 bag tortilla chips or
2 packages corn tortillas

Materials:
Large Mixing Bowl
Large Knife for Pineapple
Chopping Knife for Other Ingredients

Instructions:
First, cut the pineapple into pineapple rings, taking out the core as you go along.
Cut the rings into small pieces, about the size you would expect tomato pieces to be in a Pico de Gallo. Put the fresh pineapple pieces into the large mixing bowl.

Next, cut the strawberries to about the same size as the pineapple, and throw them into the bowl.

Move on to the onion next, dicing it into very small pieces. Put them into the bowl with the fruit.

Now, wearing gloves of some sort, slice the jalapeno's into very small pieces. Put them into the bowl as well, and mix all the ingredients together.

Finally, cover and place in fridge for between two and three hours. This helps the flavors to combine and chill.





This dish is great served with either corn tortilla chips or fresh corn tortillas. Wrapping some of the salsa up inside a warm tortilla is excellent in the winter. Despite the season, all of the ingredients were available at Crosby's Market on Canal Street, and I only spent a total of $16 preparing a good size portion of the salsa that lasted me and the roommates through an entire Sunday of football.
That's roughly seven hours of straight snacking, for those of you unfamiliar with the sacred Sunday ritual.

If any of you give this recipe a try let me know what you think in the comments section.

Enjoy, and stay warm Vikings.