cherry and spring onion salsa

cherry and spring onion salsa

While the word "salsa" essentially means "sauce" in Spanish, in the UK we tend think of salsas as being a fresh, raw sauce of uncooked, chopped vegetables or fruit, a "salsa cruda". Or we just assume it is a jar of something a bit sloppy involving tomatoes that you eat with tortilla chips - a sort of runny chutney. But there is a whole wealth of wonderful salsas out there (either raw or cooked) and it is definitely worth experimenting.

This recipe is one that I put together from the contents of my fruit bowl and fridge. It owes nothing to any kind of authenticity, but I do particularly like the combination of sweet and savoury and its glorious summery colours. (If you can get your hands on purple spring onions, it is even prettier).

It is very good with grilled or poached fish, such as salmon or trout. It also goes well with fatty meats, such as duck or pork and works very well with some simple grilled chicken. In fact today I had it for lunch with some hot smoked salmon, rocket leaves and tabbouleh. I do so like a versatile recipe!


Serves 4 - 6
Skill level: Easy
Preparation time: 15 mins

ingredients:
1 x bunch of spring onions Finely dice the spring onion, including as much of the green parts that are useable. (Sometimes the green bits can be a bit raggedy).

3 tbsp lemon juice

200g cherries, pitted, halved and sliced

1 tsp chives, finely chopped

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 x green chilli, seeded and finely chopped (use a jalapeño rather than a birds eye chilli)

5 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

directions:

1. Pour the lemon juice over the diced spring onion and set aside for about 10 minutes.
2. Pit the cherries and thinly slice.
3. Deseed and finely chop the green chilli.
4. Combine the sliced cherries, green chilli, chopped herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to ensure that all the ingredients are coated in the oil.
5. Add the diced spring onions and lemon juice.
6. Taste again. You may need to add more salt at this stage.
7. Set aside for about 5 to 10 minutes, to allow all the ingredients to get to know each other!