picnics and peach salsa
This peach salsa staring you in the face qualifies as good picnic fare (in my book) because it meets the following criteria:
- It does not have to be eaten hot or cold, so it’ll taste fine all afternoon (and I do not want to be responsible for nasty bouts of foodborne illness).
- It can be made ahead of time, and keeps well.
- It is totally safe for vegetarians, vegans, the lactose intolerant, and people who are allergic to nuts or wheat (and fine, it’s fresh and nutritious).
- The ingredients are cheap, especially when in season.
I happen to have two additional go-to picnic contributions that meet these criteria: hummus, and those summer rolls too.
recipe:
5 roma tomatoes*
3 medium peaches
1/4 of a medium red onion
1 serrano pepper, seeds removed if you can’t stand the heat
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt to taste
a fistful of cilantro
Finely chop all ingredients that need chopping, then add lime and salt to taste. Alternatively, puree everything in a blender or food processor for a more liquid salsa. Or you could do like I did: use both methods, then combine the batches for the best of both worlds. Serve with tortilla chips. This stuff is also good as a topping for grilled fish or chicken, or nachos with black beans and lots of Monterey Jack cheese (exactly what I did with the leftovers).
* There’s been a story in the news about late blight, a fungus that attacks tomatoes and potatoes, and other members of the nightshade family of plants. (One article here, and Chef Dan Barber’s take on the situation here.) This summer, the fungus has spread all over the Northeast, and it’s sounding pretty bad for farmers and organic tomato lovers alike. Farmer Deb from my CSA recently announced that we will not be getting any tomatoes this year. This is seriously disappointing, because the cherry tomatoes we usually get each summer are seriously delicious. For this salsa, I purchased conventional tomatoes from Whole Foods.
