How to Use up Any Leftover Berries by Turning Them Into Salsa
Berry recipes tend to be dessert-like, but their juicy, sweet and sour nature can brighten up a whole world of savory dishes. If you find that your CSA basket is overflowing with one kind of berries – and you just don’t feel like turning on the pie or shoemaker’s oven – consider making a fresh fruit salsa with berries.
To turn almost any berry into salsa – I say pretty much to avoid hanging the berries; I know that bananas are technically a berry – you will need the following:
- 2 cups of your favorite bountiful berries
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Lime half juice
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
The type of berry you use will determine how you proceed, but in general you need a good mixture of larger, harder berry chunks, crushed chunks, and juice extract. I start by grinding half of the berries with a fork, not so much to completely erase them, but just so that everything is nice and juicy.
Then I roughly chop or cut in half the remaining berries or, in the case of blueberries, leave the whole portion. Mix the grated berries with not very grated berries, add the onion and cilantro. Stir everything together and let it hang while you turn your attention to the garlic. Now you can just chop the garlic and it will be fine, but I prefer to make a pasta. Just peel and chop a couple of cloves and place them in the mortar. Sprinkle a large pinch of salt (to remove moisture and soften the bite) and mash with a pestle.
Add the spicy paste to the berry mixture and stir again. Add lime and cumin juice and stir again (feeling). Try and adjust the seasoning as needed (maybe a little salt). If your berries are particularly tart, sprinkle with a little agave syrup.
Sprinkle with lime zest, a few cilantro leaves, and onions if desired. Eat like any delicious salsa.
I made this cherry, blueberry, strawberry and marionette salsa (pictured above) and they are all good. There is also no need to stick to one type of berries; this is a great way to take advantage of lagging recipes. You can just eat the whole batch with good corn chips, but I love the fish berry salsa, fried chicken, pork chops and steak. Yes, and if you have excess fluid, don’t throw it away. It makes great marinades and salad dressings, and I don’t rule out mixing it with a little tequila.