We Secretly Love The Heat (Salsa Fresca)

We're heading into the peak of summer, so what better time to post a classic treat enjoyed in cultures throughout the world: salsa! The Spanish word for sauce, salsa can actually refer to a number of sauces in Hispanic cuisines; however, in the U.S., it typically refers to a spicy tomato-based sauce, often enjoyed as a dip. There are a number of types of these salsas (Wikipedia lists over 15), but the two main categories break down to cooked versus raw. In this case, we're focusing on the raw side, and making our own salsa fresca, or "fresh sauce". And given it's the time of year when those of you with gardens should be seeing ripened tomatoes and peppers, this is a perfect idea for what to do with some of your harvest.

Can you handle the heat?

Le Poisson, Le Poisson (Hibiscus Halibut, Mango Kiwi Salsa)

This post in also available as an article in the 7/25/2012 Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

As a gift from their honeymoon, our friends Laura and Geoff gave us a delightful box of unusual spices from Ambrosia, a spice and chocolate shop on Nantucket. As Laura rightly knows, owning a spice and chocolate shop ranks even higher on my wish list than opening my own artisanal radicchio farm, so this was an excellent choice. Laura has set forth the challenge that I should devise a recipe featuring each spice, and this month's feature is hibiscus.

Kapow!