The weather this week here in North Texas has been delightfully un-winter like with several afternoons boasting of bright sunshine and temperatures much more reminiscent of October as opposed to December (mid-70s).
I’ve been stuck in my home office the past couple of weeks grinding through some intensive training for a new project, and have been working through trials on a couple of new recipes, including this Quick Grilled Pineapple Habanero Salsa that we’ve been pairing with a tacos al pastor recipe I’ll post next week.
We’ve long been a fan of fresh fruit, tropically-inspired salsas; at least around our camp those creations are typically paired with some protein hot off the grill. Probably some of the best fruit salsas we’ve enjoyed over the years have deep Central American and Caribbean roots and have topped various delicious fish tacos.
Our compadre Chef Libby in Austin was talking about a Tacos al Pastor recipe she and her team had served at an event last month and mentioned this recipe, which I prompted cobbled together with a spicy grilled chicken the following Sunday afternoon.
Interesting, bowing to their shared bias toward food flavors of Texas and the Southwest, my lovely wife and Libby think this one is even better using jalapeños and/or serranos for the chiles and cilantro subbed in for the fresh mint.
That version is damned good, though the fruity, front-of-the-tongue heat of the habanero version is like nothing else in the pepper game, and I’d suggest you try both and see what your clan likes best. (I don’t know about you, but I still wear gloves when finely chopping habanero peppers after one very uncomfortable eye rub post a salsa prep several years ago.)
Finally, grilling the pineapple isn’t absolutely essential, but it does make a nifty difference. The salsa is good with the pineapple freshly chopped, it’s great with the pineapple grilled.
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch rings
2-4 habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, finely chopped
1 small-medium onion (we prefer red onions here)
1/3 to 1/2 cup mint, chopped
3-4 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp fresh lime zest
Good salt to taste
Options
Sub out cilantro for the mint
Jalapeños and/or serrano chiles for the habaneros
Grill the pineapple rings over med-high heat until they develop some nice char, cool slightly, then chop fairly small.
Now combine the pineapple with the prepped chiles, onion, mint, lime juice, and salt; stir to mix well, and adjust for lime juice and salt. Chill until using or go to it.
Enjoy.
