Tag: Low calories

Healthy Mexican Food

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

manton

Grilled Pineapple Salsa – ¡Que cosa tan rica!  This is a delicious salsa! Who knew that fruit salsas would become so popular? Most of us Mexicans grew up with las salsas madres of México, right?  Those are the classic, tomato, chile, onion and cilantro variety, and they are a staple on our tables, and in our tacos and burritos.  I never had a fruit salsa until I got to Santa Fe, New Mexico where culinary fusion is queen. But now, I love me a good fruit salsa.

This grilled pineapple salsa was developed and tested by Lori and Malena and you’re gonna love it.  If you’re brave, you can sneak in a pinch of habanero or chop up a mean little serrano, but just try it as is and kick it up later.

Fruit salsas pair great with meat, fish and poultry and this one with pineapple, is bien rica with carnitas, pork ribs, and grilled chicken. If you like fruit salsas, look for our peach and mango salsas.  And don’t forget our cranberry salsa for your Thanksgiving guajolote. Fruit salsas are a great way to liven up a taco!

Remember, you can make this salsa with other fruit besides pineapple, grilled peaches are lo máximo! If you don’t want to grill the chiles, it’s okay to remove the seeds and chop it up fresh! The best part of this recipe is grilling the pineapple.  If you haven’t had grilled pineapple, you are in for a treat.

In looking up the origins of fruit salsas, I found references to the Caribbean salsas made with mango, papaya and other tropical fruits, but not much else as far as the origins go.  I think it’s safe to say that fruit salsas are just another fabulous way we celebrate El Mestizaje – that bitter sweet fusion –  that got us all here in the first place.

¡Buen Provecho!

Healthy Mexican Food

Nopalito Salsa

manton

Nopalito Salsa – Prickly Pear Cactus Salsa: Healthy, Tangy and Delicious

Did you say nopalito salsa? Cactus salsa?  Yes, amiga, that’s what I said!  Okay, first let’s dispel the stereotype that all Latinos eat cactus.  They don’t.  (You saw it here first!) Nopalitos are of the prickly pear variety, and they are healthy and delicious, and many Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but not all, eat them.  Case in point: I once brought a platter of nopalitos con chile to a picnic pot luck in Northern New Mexico and not one person ate them.  The hostess was kind enough to dip her spoon and take a bite and say something, like, “Tangy,”  but that was about it.  And nopalitos are tangy, and are made tangier with a squeeze of lemon or lime, but they are an acquired taste and not universally eaten by all Latinos.

But if you’ve had them and like them, try this simple and delicious salsa.  And if you haven’t had them, try them! Start with this simple, tangy and delicious salsa. Serve it with corn chips! YUM! Or make yourself a  little soft shell taco with a nice warm corn tortilla. DOUBLE YUM! It is also wonderful as a side dish!

This recipe is “seria.”  I say that because it was developed by Lori, La Madrina en la Cocina and she prepared the nopalitos from scratch.  You can find fresh-cut nopalitos already prepared and free of thorns at Mexican grocery stores.  So you could just buy them all ready to go.   But if you’re little lazy, or busy, or both, buy them in a  jar.  It’s okay not to be so Betty Crocker.  Just rinse them before you chop them up for the salsa.  Malena, our mera mera nutritionist would tell you, rinsing gets rid of some of the sodium, and that’s a good thing.

We made this nopalito salsa for our end-of-study party in Albuquerque and it was a big hit!  Try them today and feed them to your kids.  They can go to school and brag about eating cactus!