Spicy Fresh Cherry Salsa

It’s fresh cherry season and time to take advantage of them while they are abundant in the market. Normally with fresh cherries I would make a clafouti, a baked French dessert of cherries baked in a thick flan-like batter and dusted with powdered sugar. But I was feeling more adventuresome and settled on a spicy fresh cherry salsa served alongside roasted pork.

The recipe calls for two cups of pitted cherries. In the past I would have used my little handheld cherry pitter and after a while, my hand would start to ache. Thanks to a gift from brother-in-law Stuart, I went through pitting two cups of cherries in record speed. He gave us this handy dandy cherry pitter from Sur la Table and believe it or not, it pits four cherries at a time with one simple motion. The tray reverses to accommodate small and large cherries and also works well as an olive pitter. And it can be washed in the dishwasher. What more could you want from a gadget. Thanks Stu. Your cherry pitter turned a chore into a breeze.

Photo - Sur la Table

I used a combination of fresh nectarines and peaches, but you could use either one you like. It would also be good with a mango if nectarines or peaches aren’t available. No need to waste the left-over pepper jelly. It’s the star of the show in an old Southern appetizer of slices of a toasted French baguette smeared with a little cream cheese or goat cheese topped with a dollop of the red pepper jelly.

This salsa is on the spicy side and if you are shy when it comes to heat, I would suggest you go light on the crushed red pepper flakes. Taste the salsa first and add more pepper flakes to taste. Southern Living served this salsa with griddle cakes, recipe here, which would make a nice breakfast. I chose roasted pork tenderloin, but it would also be delicious with grilled pork or chicken.

Spicy Fresh Cherry Salsa
Adapted from Southern Living – makes 2 ½ cups
Printable Recipe

½ cup red pepper jelly
1 tablespoon lime zest
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, or to taste
2 cups pitted, coarsely chopped fresh cherries
¾ cup diced fresh nectarines and peaches, or all nectarines or all peaches
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped scallions, green parts, or chopped chives

Whisk together red pepper jelly, lime zest, lime juice and dried crushed red peppers in a small bowl. Stir in cherries, nectarines, peaches, cilantro and scallions or chives.

Don’t forget that the Google Reader is being retired at the end of this month and you’ll want to transfer the blogs you follow to another service. Both Feedly and Bloglovin’ can easily transfer the blogs you follow from the Reader and new blogs are very easy to add. I am currently using both to see which one I like the best. One of the features I like is that you can put the blogs into categories, such as Food, Fashion, Decorating, Lifestyle, whatever you want. Both have similar layouts to the Google Reader. The end of June is just around the corner, so keep that in mind and don’t wait until the last minute to make the change.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper, and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

Have a great weekend everyone and happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there.