The Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "5th of May") is coming up in a couple of days and I thought I should whip up some refreshing salsa to celebrate the popularity of Mexican cuisine here in the United States. Salsa refers to any type of sauce but in Mexican cooking, salsa is most often identified as a spicy, tomato-based sauce used as a dip. Typical salsas usually contain tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, lime juice and cilantro. Types of salsa include salsa roja or red sauce, salsa verde or green sauce and salsa cruda (pico de gallo) or raw sauce where the ingredients are not cooked. Even mole (with the addition of chocolate and nuts) and guacamole can be considered a type of salsa.
Here, I've decided to put a twist on the salsa by making a fruit-based salsa. The ingredients include pineapple, peach, red onion, cilantro, red bell pepper, jalapeño and fresh lime juice. As the base for the sauce, I pureed some peach and pineapple slices. In addition, a shot or two of flavored tequila would provide an additional punch to the salsa. The important thing is to let the salsa sit in the refrigerator for a few hours so that all the ingredients can marinade and come together.
Just serve the salsa with some warm tortilla chips and you can have yourself a refreshing snack that's so easy to put together.
