Cherry Salsa is the sweet, tart sauce that you will be putting in, on, and around everything from seared salmon to salad to nachos, yes I said it, nachos. Not only is it super easy to make, Cherry Salsa is packed with all the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits of cherries! Shall we?
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Ingredients You Need for Cherry Salsa
Other than the fresh cherries, you probably already have all the ingredients for Cherry Salsa on-hand! You will need:
- Cherries, 1 pound, will end up being about 2½ cups pitted and chopped
- Lemon or lime juice, 2 tablespoons
- Red onion, ¼ cup diced and soaked in ice cold water for about 10 minutes to take some of the "bite" off, about a fourth of an onion
- Jalapeño or serrano pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped
- Parsley, fresh 2 tablespoons
- Sea salt, ½ teaspoon plus more to taste
- optional: ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
How to Pit Cherries WITHOUT a Cherry Pitter
If you, like me, refuse to buy yet another uni-jobber kitchen tool to crowd your storage and potentially make it impossible to open the drawer, then skip buying a cherry pitter and just do it by hand. Yes, it takes a little longer, but think of the slow repetition as a forced meditation, exactly what you need during the summer. There are a couple of ways to pit "by hand."
How to Pit Cherries with Just a Knife
Using a knife to pit cherries creates the "cleanest" cuts, making pretty cherry halves.
- Hold a cherry in one hand, then using a small, sharp paring knife, carefully slice through the middle until you hit the small pit in the center, and slice all the way around the pit.
- Twist the cherry halves apart.
- One side will still hold the pit. Carefully wiggle the pit out with your fingers. If the pit is particularly clingy, use the tip of your paring knife to wedge it out.
Pro-tip: Cherries will stain your hands, so wear gloves if you have them.
How to Pit Cherries with a Wine Bottle
You can pit cherries using an empt wine bottle and a thin stick like a chopstick! So if you ever need an excuse to drink down an entire bottle of wine, this is it!
- Remove the stem from the cherry. Cut a small X into the bottom of the cherry, opposite end of the stem.
- Place the cherry with the X-cut side down onto the bottle opening.
- Hold the cherry steady with one hand, then using a chopstick or other similar diameter stick with your other hand, press down firmly into the stem end and all the way through the cherry. The pit should drop through into the bottle!
How to Use Cherry Salsa
When I say I put Cherry Salsa in, on, and around everything all summer from the moment fresh cherries hit the markets as early as late April (in California), I mean it. Here are the best ways to use Cherry Salsa:
Cherry Salsa as a condiment for any grilled fish, particularly AMAZING (and healthy!) with grilled salmon
with Whipped Feta and Grilled Bread, add a sprinkle of pistachios for texture!
Of course, keep it pure and just eat Cherry Salsa straight from the bowl with chips!
Cherry Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lemon or lime, juice 2-3 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- 1 pound cherries, pitted and chopped will yield ~ 2 cups
- 4 tablespoons finely diced red onions
- 1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeño pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
optional:
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper finely ground
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together lemon or lime juice and salt. You're just trying to dissolve the salt.
- Stir chopped cherries, diced red onions, jalapeño peppers, and chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional lime juice or salt.
Big Fella says
Your recent photos have been outstanding, very nice work. Now I guess I'll start reading.
Michael says
Very nice metaphor for life changes. I'm going through something very similar right now. Blending may be pulverizing, but you end up with something refined and tasty. Just stick with it until everything's chopped up!
sarah says
big fella: *eh* don't bother reading. i hear it's pretty boring, really. ;)
michael: metaphors? oh baby, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
u: such psycho-dramatic little berries, aren't they?
U says
I'm sure that your cherries have a certain sense of amor fati, so they're happy to give their young lives for the betterment of your salsa.
styleandsubstance says
Wow, Sarah, I need a energy smoothie from just reading your excerpt! Seriously, though, smoothies (namely Peachy Morning from the Ultimate Smoothie Book) kept my sanity intact last summer, after reeling from a toxic relationship back into a ghost town of a hometown. Something about the blend of fresh peaches and my spin of bananas was therapeutic-
And far less expensive than alcohol.