Salsa.
Lovely, lovely salsa. With it's tangy tones, it's background heat and it's chunky texture that you just want to put on tacos or dip tortilla chips in (note to self, find a way to make corn free tortilla chips). Well, when you take garlic out of salsa it just is NOT the same. I've made salsa about 17 different ways since the garlic allergy. Every single one of them just ends up tasting like picante sauce without the garlic in the salsa. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I just missed having a salsa that I wanted to go back for seconds or thirds with.
Then it hit me when I saw mangoes on sale last week. Why go with tomato salsa all the time? Why not go just completely out there nuts with it and go with a fruit based salsa instead, use ingredients that I know my kids can eat and/or I just plain like and make it all work. It shouldn't need the garlic in it if I did it right, and I could mess with the heat levels and such in it.
Unfortunately, like every single recipe I could find for mango salsa contained another, newer nemesis to me. Corn (which is in everything right along with garlic, so why I was surprised is beyond me).
So, after much thinking, reworking recipes and just generally messing around my kitchen I came up with this recipe. Now, do not get your hopes up for a traditional salsa here. It is not going to taste like your typical tomato-based salsa. Nope, this stuff is tangy and sweet with a background heat that just makes you want to come back and grab more. My husband has even put in a request for taco night next week to eat this stuff on tacos.
Oh, did I mention that this stuff cans like a dream because it's got a high acidity level in it just like traditional salsa.
Yeah, I'd say this recipe is a keeper. Enjoy folks!
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| It might not look like much, but it sure is tasty! |
Mango Salsa (Garlic, Corn and Refined Sugar Free)
- 2 cups cubed ripe mango (the consistency of one large mango for me as mine was HUGE)
- 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple (make sure you get corn free. My can from Safeway contained two things. Pineapple and juice). Do not drain (you'll use the entire can). If you want a chunkier salsa go with pineapple tid bits instead of crushed pineapple (crushed was all I had, so crushed it was).
- 1 Cup sweetened dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
- 1 1/4 cups lemon juice (you could also go half lemon and half lime if you wished)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (just for fun. I used Braggs)
- 3 teaspoons chile powder (not chili powder...chile powder is just dried and crushed chile peppers)
- 2 TBS minced onion
- 3 TBS minced fresh cilantro
- 3 TBS honey (you could also use maple syrup, palm sugar or brown sugar here. You just want it for some additional sweet and to help deepen the flavor)
1. Prepare canner, jars and lids (if you are planning on canning it).
2. Here's the hard part. Combine all the ingredients (including the entire can of pineapple in juice) in a large non-reactive pan and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 10 to 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring every few minutes to make sure nothing burns. Adjust seasonings to taste (if you like more heat, add more chile powder or cayenne pepper, if you like it sweeter add a bit more sweetener of choice, etc.).
3. Ladle hot salsa into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles (I just used a butter knife for this). Wipe rim. Center lid on jar and screw down band until finger tight (a kitchen towel really helps you not get burned here).
4. Place jars in canner, making sure they are completely covered with water. Let canner come back up to a boil. Process for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let jars sit in water 5 more minutes. Place jars on a kitchen towel to cool and then store.
Hope you enjoy the salsa as much as I do (I ate a lot of it while I was making it *ahem*). I found it to be somewhat addictive :).
Enjoy!
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