Roasted Tomato and Pineapple Salsa

This is a very complicated salsa recipe, I’m not going to lie, but it’s so tasty! There are a lot of ingredients cooked a few different ways, and the results are fantastic. You can really taste everything and it comes together as a sweet, sour, spicy salsa that’s just super flavorful. The recipe is from Truly Mexican, my fave. Would be perfect for Super Bowl this weekend!

Ingredients:

1 lb tomatoes (4 small/medium)

1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks

1 medium red onion, peeled whole and cut into 1/2” rounds

5 garlic cloves, peeled

3 dried arbol chiles, wiped clean and stemmed

1 small poblano or hot Italian pepper

pinch allspice

2 tbsp chopped jalapeño chiles, including seeds

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp distilled white vinegar

2 tbsp water

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp fine salt or 1 tbsp kosher salt

Jerk Striped Bass with Spicy Pineapple Salsa

Yum! We had this on Sunday night and I will definitely be making it again soon. It's a great, spicy, and bright dish. 

Ingredients:

1 large striped bass filet (enough for two)

1.5 tbsp jerk paste

Olive oil 

Salt 

1.5 cups diced pineapple

1/2 a very spicy cherry bomb pepper (or jalapeño to taste)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 red onion, finely diced

Spicy Pineapple Salsa

Of course, I'd made this one as our friends were arriving and I was rushing to finish up so I could get out of the kitchen and be social, so I forgot to take pictures! This is a very quick salsa to throw together and is a real crowd pleaser. Everyone loved it. It's bright and spicy and sweet. It was delicious on chips, and would be great with fish or pork or chicken, anything really.

Ingredients:
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh jalapeno chiles, including seeds, or more to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar, if you need it (I didn't use any)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 small red onion, minced


Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Season to taste with additional chile, lime juice, sugar, and salt.

Carnitas tacos with spicy roast pineapple salsa

I had a few people over for Cinco de Mayo and wanted to try making carnitas - one of my fave taco options. They were delicious, and though you have to have a few hours to kill before you serve them, it's not a lot of work, just a long cooking time. The meat was extremely tender and flavorful and the spicy and sweet salsa went perfectly with the pork. I also like to top tacos with some very thinly slice radishes - gives it a fresh crunch and looks pretty too! This would be perfect for having a bunch of friends for a casual Mexican night, maybe adding in some carne asada and other salsas. Just throw it all in the pot a few hours ahead of time.

Carnitas

Ingredients:

3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into cubes

2 cups water

1 white onion, peeled and cut into quarters