Spicy Grilled Peach & Pepper Salsa
‘Tis the season for picnics and barbecues. It is also the season for juicy peaches and sweet corn. What is better than celebrating summer by creating a delicious dish that showcases the season’s best?
This salsa recipe uses some of summer’s greatest produce, and the favored pastime - grilling. By grilling the ingredients in this salsa, you allow another layer of flavor to come through; unreachable by simply using raw ingredients. Grilling peaches brings out a smoky flavor, onions become sweeter, and we all know that grilled corn is the only way to go!
Another abundant item in the last few weeks is peppers. Both sweet and spicy peppers are popping up at all the produce stands and that’s great for me because I’m a huge fan of spicy dishes. When deciding which hot pepper to use, it is important to ask the farmer for a recommendation. Sometimes a jalapeño can be spicier than a habanero, which was actually the case with the jalapeño I bought from Westmoreland Produce for this recipe. The farmers know the heat level of each kind of spicy pepper, so ask them to make sure it fits your spice preference.
Eat this salsa just as it is, served with fresh handmade chips from Betty’s Chips and Salsa. It is also makes a great addition to grilled fish or chicken, served on top or on the side. I grilled some chicken wings from Liberty Delight Farms and served the salsa on top. What a treat!
Spicy Grilled Peach & Pepper Salsa
INGREDIENTS
- 3 Medium Peaches (Westmoreland Berry Farm)
- 2 Ears Corn (Twin Springs Fruit Farm)
- 2 Large Sweet Peppers (Westmoreland Produce)
- 1 Hot Pepper of your choice (Westmoreland Produce)
- 1 Large Red Onion (Westmoreland Produce)
- 4 Tbsp. Cilantro (Young Harvests)
- Zest of 1 Lime
- Juice of 1 Lime
DIRECTIONSLight the grill. Halve and pit the peaches, leaving the skin on. Shuck the corn.Quarter and de-seed the sweet peppers and mince the hot pepper (use your personal taste to determine how much hot pepper to include- about 1 Tbsp. would be medium heat). Peel and slice the onion into thick (½ inch) slices.Be sure to spray the grill! The peaches will stick.Put the peaches, corn, peppers, and onions on the grill.The peaches will be done first - they need about 5-7 minutes per side. Place them in a bowl and make sure they cool completely (I put them in the refrigerator while I finished grilling the rest of the veggies)Next, the peppers should come off. Its fine, even preferable, if the skin is a little charred. Once they have cooled, the skin will just peel off.Leave the onions and corn on the grill for at least 20 minutes, making sure all sides are browned. Once done, remove them from the grill and allow them too cool completely.While the grilled veggies are cooling, add the minced hot pepper, lime zest, and lime juice to a medium bowl.When they cool to room temperature, small dice the peaches. This will get messy, but try to contain the juices as much as possible as it is needed for the salsa.Remove any charred skin from the peppers and small dice them.Chop up the onions to your desired size and cut the corn off the cob. Roughly chop the cilantro, add to the bowl, toss all ingredients together and salt and pepper to taste.If using this as a salsa with chips, it is much tastier the next day. It can be room temperature if used as a salsa on meat or fish.Bon appetit!