Winter Salsa

This recipe was inspired by a huge amount of cilantro in my garden, snow in the forecast, and the need for appetizers for Thanksgiving dinner. Also, persimmons are in season, but tomatoes are not. And persimmons look like tomatoes, so it should work out, right?

Winter Salsa

Ingredients:

• 3 persimmons
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced, with additional adobo sauce added to taste
• Large handful of cilantro, chopped
• Juice of one lime
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Peel and cube the persimmons as you would do with tomatoes in “normal” salsa. 
2. Fire-roast the peppers using your method of choice. I cut them in half and grilled them in my fish grill, but I am guessing most of the people who read my blog don’t have a fish grill. Allow the peppers to cool, remove as much of the skin as possible, and dice. (Or raw peppers are fine.)
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the onions over low heat, stirring frequently, until they are caramel brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and green onions and fry them for another couple of minutes. (Or, once again, you can skip this step if you like the flavor of raw onion and garlic. I don’t.)
4. Put the persimmons, peppers, and onion mixture in a large bowl, and season to taste with chipotle pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Enjoy!

On top of tonight's dinner...

Persimmon trees lose their leaves before the fruit falls off.