Photo of strawberry salsa, taken by Maggie Heyn Richardson.
Fruit salsas are a great addition to the table, both for snacking with chips and for topping grilled meats and fish.
This past weekend, I had a chance to sample Louisiana Spring Salsa made with fresh local strawberries at Alexander’s Highland Market’s outdoor pop-up event. Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) had a booth along with several local food entrepreneurs, and I was there with my new book on Louisiana foodways.
PBRC Communications Director Alisha Prather and respected research pathologist Jennifer Rood were handing out samples of this healthy fruit salsa, which you can also make with fresh blueberries. It’s light, flavorful and versatile and was developed in house at Pennington.
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Louisiana Spring Salsa
Makes 2 cups
- 1 pint strawberries, washed and diced, or ½ pint blueberries, washed and sliced in half
- ¼ of 1 medium red onion (I used ¼ cup)
- 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
- Juice from ½ lime (about 1 tbsp.)
Combine all ingredients and serve on salads, fish, chicken, chips or cheese and crackers. Use within a day.
Nutrition facts per ½ cup serving
- Calories: 35
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fat: 0.5 g
- Fiber: 2 g
Maggie’s variation with avocado and jalapeno
For some kick and extra heft, I added the following to Pennington’s recipe.
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- Half of 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 tbsp. chopped fresh jalapeno pepper
- Juice from remaining half lime
- Local strawberries should be in good supply through Mother’s Day.
Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor and author of Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey (LSU Press). Reach her at hungryforlouisiana.com