Sweet Heat Pineapple Mango Salsa

Last week when I posted about the Moe’s Southwest grill bringing back their Stacks for loyal fans, it sparked some major reminiscing. Back at the kick off dinner for the Moe’s Blogger Advisory Council, we all participated in a two team, salsa competition. Our team made an incredible Pineapple Mango Salsa with such a combination of sweet and heat, that I had to try and re-create it at home.

Ingredients:
1/2 fresh pineapple, finely diced
1 mango (or 2 small yellow), finely diced
2 small shallots, finely diced
1 roasted poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 serrano pepper, finely diced (seeded and de-veined to taste)*
1 lime, juiced
Fresh cilantro, chopped fine, to taste
Small pinch of salt

Directions for a salsa are relatively simple. Throw all the chopped ingredients in a large bowl, add the lime juice and salt, and toss to blend well. The most interesting part of this process for me, was roasting the poblano pepper. We have a gas range, so I grabbed my tongs and just went to roasting. It’s cool to watch the pepper singe, crack, and pop while it’s being roasted. Be careful with the popping though, wear a baking mitt to protect your hand.

Once the pepper is all charred, place it in a sealed plastic bag to cool and loosen the skin. Once cool enough to handle, remove from the bag and use the blade of a knife to scrape off the charred skin. Once skinned, the pepper is ready to chop. A second word of caution, DO NOT under any circumstance touch your face with your hands after dealing with peppers. Even after washing thoroughly with soap the natural oils from the pepper can remain on your hands. I learned the hard way with the serrano. Whew! I had a burning eye lid for hours! I had an itch, so I scratched it. Never again my friends. Luckily the pepper oil was only on the eyelid, and not in my eye. I definitely learned my lesson, but anyway…back to the salsa!

This salsa is a delicious balance of sweet mango, acidic pineapple and the smoky roasted flavor of the Poblano pepper. I am not a fan of peppers in general, but I enjoyed this salsa. I also loved the heat the serrano pepper added. Eating this salsa with tortilla chips was so good, we ate it three days in a row! The sweet heat salsa combined with the salty, crunchy, corn tortilla chips was fabulous! Definitely a preferred snack combo moving forward.

What’s your favorite ingredient combination for salsa?

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