Grilled pineapple and creamy avocado create a fresh salsa with plenty of bright, tangy flavors with a hint of smoky sweetness. Grilled pineapple avocado salsa is delicious over fish, meat, or poultry. Or serve this as a simple, healthy dip for chips!
After a weekend of eating oft-heavy holiday fare, my body craves massive amounts of fruits and vegetables for at least a solid week. These post-holiday Veggie Infusions are my preferred method of balancing out all of the butter in my life. As much as I love a good salad, I quickly tire of eating them day after day. Goodness knows that I get tired of all the chopping!
When that happens, I like to get my influx of veggies by making a huge bowl of fresh salsa that I can spoon over All the Things. That way, I get all of the chopping out of the way in one sitting. And I don’t feel as if I’m stuck in a boring food rut, even though I’m eating the same group of fruits and vegetables every day. Salsas are so versatile in that just about any collection of fruits and vegetables can be chopped and marinated into something wonderful.
Perhaps even more versatile than the variety of ingredients that can be blended into salsa form is all of the ways in which salsa can be enjoyed. Salsa can be scooped up with any number of edible vehicles. Eat it as a dip, spooned over grilled meats or fish as a relish, or simply tossed over a bed of greens and eaten as a salad.
Having a bowl of fresh salsa in the ‘fridge is like having a smorgasbord of meal possibilities at-the-ready. Just add fresh ingredients and go!
The weather is still to chilly to grow much Up North, making preparing fresh salsa a tad difficult. Thankfully, the kind farmers in California are harvesting some really great produce. I have been on a serious tropical fruit bender for the past month or so, which is odd because the warmer it is outdoors, the healthier my food cravings usually become.
I almost feel as if some part of me thinks that if I eat enough warm weather produce, then the warmth might actually find it’s way to northern Michigan. I’m anxiously awaiting warmers days so that I can safely stow away the muck boots and bust out my flip flops! This time of year, my usual embrace-the-cold attitude wanes to a less enthusiastic will-I-ever-be-warm-again view of the world.
My only real option is to fire up the grill as often as possible. Call it a Survival Instinct.
Firing up the grill is my little way of snubbing my nose at the lingering cold. If calendar says that it’s officially Spring, then my grill is open for business!
Eating Grilled Pineapple Avocado Salsa helps me detox from all of the rich holiday food.
It also makes feel as if summer is just a hairsbreadth away. Believe me, Friends, after six long months of snowy weather, a hairsbreadth of hope for sunshine is enough to carry me through until the warmth finally arrives.
♥♥♥
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 6-8 servings
Fresh salsa with plenty of bright, tangy flavors imparts an element of smoky sweetness from grilled pineapple.
20 minPrep Time
2 minCook Time
22 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 C. fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into two ½-inch steaks
- 1 tsp. light olive oil (for the grill rack)
- 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
- 2 small ripe tomatoes, diced (about 1 to 1 ½ C.)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (or more, to taste)
- 3 Tbs. finely diced red onion (pickled red onion is fantastic)
- 1 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
- Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbs.)
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground cumin (or more, to taste)
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
Instructions
- Brush the grill rack lightly with olive oil. Grill the pineapple steaks over medium heat until browned on both sides. Remove pineapple from the grill and allow it to cool slightly on a cutting board while chopping the avocado, tomato, red onion, and cilantro. Slice the grilled pineapple away from the core, and throw the core away. Dice the pineapple.
- Combine the grilled pineapple, diced avocado, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro in a medium bowl.
- Squeeze the fresh lime juice over the diced fruits. Sprinkle the cumin, cayenne, and kosher salt over all. Stir well to combine the salsa ingredients.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. I don’t recommend refrigerating the salsa for much longer than 30 minutes, or the avocado may start to brown.
Serve with tortilla chips, or with Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas. The salsa is also great over other grilled meats or fish, as a topping for toasted baguette slices, or as a salad spooned over a bed of fresh spring greens.
Comments