Cherry Chile Salsa with Pork Tenderloin

I love it when cherries are in season- they are one of my favorite fruits!  I load up on them when they are on sale because they are so expensive normally.  I bookmarked this recipe from Serious Eats and I'm glad I remembered to make it this summer before cherries go out of season!  The cherries are combined with hot chile peppers, lime juice, and cilantro to make a delicious sweet and spicy salsa to go along with some roasted pork tenderloin.  The salsa was the perfect complement to the juicy pork, and probably the first time I've used fresh cherries in a savory dish.  The salsa would also be great with sturdy tortilla chips if you cut the cherries into smaller pieces.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork tenderloin (preferably two smaller ones, but we ended up with one huge tenderloin cut in half)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 lb fresh cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 large or two small jalapeno peppers thinly sliced, with option to omit seeds to keep heat level down
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large zip lock bag, combine the pork with the vegetable oil, 4 tablespoons of lime juice and half of the cilantro and shallots.  Marinate at room temp for about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine cherries with jalapenos, sugar, olive oil, and the remaining cilantro, shallots, and lime juice. (You could omit sugar if your cherries are super sweet). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  Stir occasionally to mix the flavors.

To cook the pork, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (or preheat a grill to medium-high).  Remove from marinade and season well with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat and brown your tenderloin on each side.  Place into a large baking dish and cook for 45 minutes to an hour (depending on the size of your steak and actual oven temp the time will vary).  Check with a thermometer to ensure pork is at least 145 degrees F in the center before removing from the oven.  Let it rest 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with the delicious cherry salsa piled on top.

 

Mango Salsa

This is a sweet and spicy salsa that is great for the summer when fresh mangoes are in season.  There are no tomatoes in it but it still captures much of the same flavor from the jalapeno, red onion, garlic, lime juice and cilantro.  We also added diced cucumber to give it some crunch and balance out the cayenne pepper.  It started out a little sweet, but by the next day all of the flavors had melded together and it was balanced and delicious.  This salsa is great with chips, but it would also be delicious on a piece of salmon or pork. 

Ingredients:

1 ripe mango, diced (not too ripe though or it will turn into mush)

1/4 cup minced red onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced (seed it first if you are worried about the spiciness)

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

2 limes, juiced

1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauce (or use 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:

Chop all ingredients as listed above.  

The mango was the hardest, as ours was a little too ripe.  The easiest way to do it is to peel the skin off and score the flesh of the mango with your knife into small squares.  Then slice the fruit off and it will already be cut into small pieces.  Mix everything together and chill until ready to serve.  

 Taste it to see if you need to add more heat according to your taste. As I said, it is definitely better the day after making.  Enjoy!

Pomegranate Fennel Salsa

I was inspired to make this salsa after having it at a friend's house.  The pomegranate seeds are small and sweet, and they end up being perfect for salsa when mixed with the rest of the ingredients. Just be careful that you don't end up covered in red pomegranate juice like I did!

Seeding the fruit is probably the hardest part, but it is definitely worth it because one pomegranate has a TON of seeds in it. The easiest way is to cut the fruit into segments (maybe eighths) and then try to separate the peel from the seeds with your hands.  Be gentle because the seeds will spray bright red juice when they burst.  Try to pick as many little white pieces of pith away from the seeds as you can. Sorry I didn't grab any pictures of this process!  We also made our own tortilla chips to go along with it.  It's a very festive alternative to regular salsa!

Ingredients:
Seeds from one pomegranate (about 2 cups)
1 T vegetable oil
Half of a fennel bulb, diced
about 1/3 red onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (more ore less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 T canned chipotle in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t chili powder
juice of one lime
2 T fennel fronds, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix everything together except for the fennel. 

Heat the oil over medium heat in a pan and saute the fennel with a sprinkle of salt for about 10 minutes or until soft and golden

Add the fennel into the salsa, stir to combine.  Try to let it sit for at least an hour to let the flavors infuse together.
Serve with chips!

Tortilla Chips:
To make the tortilla chips, slice your tortillas into whatever shape you would like the chips.

Mix the chips in a bowl with a few teaspoons of olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Spread them on a baking sheet or heated stone and place into a 400 degree F oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until they turn golden.