Oh the delicious flavours of Summer time… I love tropical fruits, and I especially adore them in salads. One day I had a ripe pineapple sitting on the counter for a few days, so I wanted to find a recipe for it. I came across a few yummy Pineapple Salsa recipes, modified it according to what I had in my fridge and the flavours that I thought would work well together, and came up with this easy-breezy recipe.

Although it’s not very Fall/Winter like recipe, because I love everything Summer, personally I like to prolong the taste of Summer well into the cold months, so who is to say  we cannot enjoy a little ray of sunshine with this Pineapple Salsa on a cold Winter day?!

Here is what you need to make this healthy, fast & delicious Pineapple Salsa:

Pineapple, Red Peppers, Lime, Fresh Ginger Root, Jalapeno Pepper, Parsley, Shallots, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), Soy Sauce & Honey

Of course you can always get the pre-cut pineapple at most grocery stores these days, but I prefer to start from scratch with a fresh pineapple, and cut it all myself. I don’t know why. It just makes me feel better, than buying it pre-cut, not to mention it is a lot cheaper to buy a whole pineapple anyways.

There are many ways of cutting a pineapple, and you can do it whichever way works for you. I like doing it this way, and I will show you how I do it step-by-step below. Why? Because I’m nice.

So, start by placing the pineapple on its side on a cutting board…

And chop off the top…

Then turn it around, and chop off the bottom. Now place the pineapple upwards again…

And start to carefully slice off the skin as shown below.

Keep going all the way around the pineapple…

Until you got all the skin off, and you’re just left with a clean & juicy pineapple.

Now cut the pineapple in half length-wise as shown below…

Now just place the cut halves on their flat sides and slice into approximately 3/4″ thick slices.

Using a knife cut out around the thick center of each individual slice…

And cut each slice into 4 pieces. Basically this is the pretty sun shape that you will be left with in the end.

Now just dice up the pineapple into smaller, about 1/4″ thick pieces and add to a mixing bowl.

Now comes the red pepper. Chop of the end, and clean out the seeds.

Cut the pepper in half and cut each half into thin strips, and then dice up those strips into smaller pieces, as shown below…

It’s time for the jalapeno pepper. I’ve said this in one of the previous posts, but I will say it again, for your own good. Wear gloves when handling jalapeno, or be VERY careful NOT to touch anything at all until you wash off your hands really well.

So, cut off the end of the jalapeno, and cut in half…

The seeds are the deadliest / hottest part, so clean out all the seeds and the white parts, just like shown below…

Cut the jalapeno into thin, thin strips, and dice up into tiny pieces.

Cut the fresh ginger root into about 2″ piece, peel off the skin and grate into the mixing bowl.

Now chop up some parsley and add to the mixing bowl.

Last goes in the shallot. Cut the ends off and take off the skin.

Cut in half and cut again sideways, along the flat side.

Now cut into strips in the opposite direction (length wise).

And finely dice it up…

Squeeze out the juice of the lime into a small mixing bowl and add in a tbsp of honey.

Into the same bowl add in the EVOO, Soy Sauce and salt & pepper and mix well together.

Pour over all the other ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix well.

Mmm… It smells delicious!

This is such a versatile salsa and can be served as an appetizer on its own, or as a side dish with grilled chicken breast or shrimp. I decided to serve it with some wild rice & grilled chicken. The sweet & juicy pineapple is a great compliment to crunchy red pepper and the jalapeno adds just enough of a spicy kick.

It is a perfect blend!

You’ve got to try it… It is so easy to make & can’t beat all the vitamins that are in this baby!

YUM!

Pineapple Salsa
Makes: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups diced pineapple
2 whole red peppers, diced
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped into tiny pieces
1 shallot, chopped
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup soy sauce (or add a bit more if you like the salty flavour)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Easy – breezy, healthy & delicious!

Enjoy!