With Spring just around the corner, it’s hard not to think about all the lovely fruits and vegetables that are coming into season.  Starting this month, local strawberries will be everywhere and I, for one, will be buying them by the flat every Tuesday at the Manhattan Beach Farmers’ Market.

I want to challenge all of my fellow foodies to find savory ways to incorporate strawberries – think about chutneys, pepper jams and salsa recipes.  I always keep small batches of pico de gallo (AKA salsa fresca) as a sort of friendly-to-all food condiment in my fridge to brighten up my morning eggs or serve with corn tortilla chips as an afternoon snack.  A couple of days ago, I had more strawberries than I knew what to do with and decided to swap strawberries for the tomatoes in my favorite salsa fresca recipe.

The result was simply delicious, leaving my boyfriend puzzled and wondering, “What’s in that salsa?” The sweetness of the strawberry paired along with the diced red onion, fresh jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro was undeniably tasty and well-balanced.  We honestly didn’t miss the tomato at all, which left us discussing new ways we could incorporate fresh strawberries into our favorite dishes and snacks.

There’s an added bonus to this recipe: strawberries are loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents that shield your body and aid in helping it fight off numerous forms of unwanted cancer cells. What’s not to love about that?

Strawberry Jalapeño Salsa
Makes 3 cups

Ingredients

• 1-pound strawberries, de-stemmed and small diced
• ½ medium sized red onion, finely diced
• 2 limes, juiced & zested
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely diced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Cracked Pepper, to taste

Method

1. Add all ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Once combined and seasoned, let “marinate” for 10-15 before serving so that flavors can merry to perfection
2. Enjoy immediately. (This will not be delicious after 24 hours, so make it fresh and not too far in advance.)