Pineapple Ginger Salsa Recipe

Pineapple Ginger Salsa Recipe

by | Le Blog, Recipes and Culinary Nutrition

Pineapple Ginger Salsa Recipe

Tomato-based salsas offer familiar flavors and textures, but bust out of that comfort zone with a sweet, tangy pineapple ginger salsa for a zippy dip and fun side dish or garnish. Flavorful heat from chile peppers, garlic, scallion and ginger are balanced by the fruity nectar of ripe pineapple and savory fresh tomatoes.

Pineapple ginger salsa recipe

It screams “don’t touch me!” Maui pineapple from my Dole Plantation Tour

Selecting Pineapples

Advice for selecting pineapples at optimal ripeness can be conflicting. I suggest relying mostly on your nose to check if the aroma from its base exudes a sweet, pineapple aroma. If it has hints of vinegar, has an overly soft texture and is bright green or orange rather than yellow, pass on it.

Pineapple’s pointy leaves and spiky scales make it fail the friendly-fruit test of tucking into a pocket or packing with your lunch. This awkward fruit gets weirder when you consider the scales are individual berries that bind to its central core. You can nibble the core’s sweet bits like an ear of corn, but it’s also used in fermented drinks like tapache.

There are some tricks to cutting pineapple, but a heavy sharp knife is your best friend here. Make this dish more festive by turning the pineapple into a bowl or “pineapple boat” to serve the salsa.

 

Pineapple Ginger Salsa

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

2 cups diced fresh pineapple (about ½ a medium-sized pineapple)
6 roma tomatoes diced or chopped (about 4 cups)
2 large scallions, sliced thin, white and green parts (about 2 tablespoons)1-2 green serrano chile peppers, minced fine (about 1½ teaspoon)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons fine grated fresh ginger (about 1-inch nob)
1 small lime, juiced (about 1 tablespoon)
Few pinches of large grain sea salt

Steps

Pineapple ginger salsa recipe1. Trim option #1: Trim off the top and bottom of the pineapple, then slice the outer scales off to reveal the flesh. Cut large sections from off the hard core. Dice or small chop enough pineapple for 2 cups and add to a mixing bowl.
2. Trim option #2: Pineapple bowl: take a sharp knife and cut the pineapple in half from top to bottom. Use a pairing knife to cut around the inside rim, leaving about a half inch boarder and being careful not to cut through the outer skin. Then divide the inside area up by cutting a grid with half inch-sized squares. Use a sturdy large metal spoon to scoop out the flesh. Dice or small chop enough pineapple for 2 cups and add to a mixing bowl.
3. Dice the tomatoes, slice the scallions, mince the peppers (remove seeds), mince garlic, grate ginger and juice the lime. Add all ingredients plus the salt to the bowl and gently toss.
4. Taste. If pineapple is less sweet or more tangy than desired, drizzle on some honey and, or another pinch of salt.

Serving Ideas

  • Grill the pineapple half before cutting up.
  • Serve as a side dish with grilled salmon.
  • Add grilled or poached shrimp to the salsa to make it a salad.

Related Article: Why chile peppers help you burn calories. Salsa! Dance it or Eat it—Both Burn Calories

    About Me

    The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
    Michele Redmond

    Michele Redmond

    French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

    It's about Making Food First

    Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

    Salsa! Dance it or Eat it—Both Burn Calories

    Salsa! Dance it or Eat it—Both Burn Calories

    by | Health and Food Culture, Home Featured, Le Blog

    Salsa! Dance it or Eat it—Both Burn Calories

    Dance it or eat it, but either way salsa boosts your mood, makes you hot and burns extra calories. Chile peppers in salsa contain chemicals that trigger heat sensations and cause your body to expend more energy–a metabolic effect called diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT). Embrace salsa as a quick condiment or ingredient to make sassier foods that give your body a metabolic boost for burning calories.

    Making Salsa & How Chile Peppers for Burn Calories

    Fermented salsa made from my garden serrano chile peppers

    Popular in the United States as a dip, in many dishes it’s the sauce, no surprise since salsa is the Spanish word for sauce. It typically relies on savory, umami-rich tomatoes as the base, but fruits add fresh, sweet flavors that complement many dishes.

    Salsa ingredients can be grilled, raw, pureed, diced or pounded out in a molcajete. The only rule to making salsa? You must include chile peppers–not spelled chili (a meaty dish).

    Salsa “Burn”–Blame the Vein

    Contrary to popular myth, the spicy heat from chili peppers caused by capsaicinoids, is not concentrated in the seeds, but primarily in the inner fibrous veins, or the ribs of the peppers. Chemicals in capsaicinoids, like capsaicin, induce thermogenesis causing your body to expend more energy.

    Diet-induced thermogenesis occurs when specific compounds in foods (capsaicin in chile peppers) or beverages (such catechins in green tea), help the cells convert energy into heat which burns calories. Depending on the mix of nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats and protein consumed at meals, diet-stimulated energy expenditure can range from 5-15% of total energy expenditures for the day.

    Consider making salsa a weekly part of your menu by stocking up on:

    Serrano Chile peppers and burning calories by diet-induced thermogenesis

    Serrano chile peppers from my desert garden

     

    • Salsa base ingredients: Raw tomatoes, raw tomatillos or grilled, braised, roasted versions of either and canned fire-roasted tomatoes can be a nice option.
    • Chile peppers: Serranos are my favorite choice because of the size and fruity profile they have compared to jalapenos which tend towards grassier, bitter notes. Serranos have more capsaicin (3-4 times more) than jalapenos and both come in red and green but serranos also are available in orange and yellow. Gauge the amount of chile peppers by taste, but also check out the Scoville levels as a guide.
    • Aromatic or savory ingredients: Garlic, ginger, yellow onions, red onions, sweet onions, shallots, scallions, cilantro
    • Sweet ingredients: Corn, pineapple, watermelon, mangos, apples, peach, strawberries, cherries, etc.
    • Tangy ingredients: lime, grapefruit, lemon, vinegar, pickled veggies

    Want to get some hot tips on handling chilies and creating fast, flavorful salsas? On my Facebook Live cooking show, I’ll demo how to make a quick canned salsa that doesn’t taste canned and a fruit salsa that is flexible for many different dishes.

    Live Salsa Making on my Make Food First Cooking Show:

    Facebook Live IconJoin us on Facebook Live May 23rd 1 pm PT or 4 pm ET

    Where? @TheTasteWorkshop Facebook page

     

    Want a beverage twist on chile peppers? Click here to get my cranberry citrus chili spritz in Food & Nutrition Magazine.

    For more on how to spell Chile Peppers, Check out the Chile Pepper Institute N.W. University

    For more info on Diet-Induced Thermogenesis: DIT & total energy expenditure estimates

      About Me

      The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
      Michele Redmond

      Michele Redmond

      French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

      It's about Making Food First

      Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

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