Salsa Fresa

The strawberry craze continued this week after I took another visit to the farmers market to purchase more fresh strawberries from Oxnard, California. I followed up last week’s Pico de Gallo con Fresas with a smooth mixture of strawberries, roasted red bell peppers and fresnos for my version of Salsa Fresa.

The salsa is not overly sweet from the strawberries, but still has a nice rich taste that is not overwhelming. Salsa Fresa can go with just about anything, but I particularly enjoyed using it in the morning on top of my omelets.

All the ingredients blend well with each other in this dish, particularly the roasted bell peppers. While I was getting fresh strawberries at Rillito Park last week, I also bought some freshly roasted bell peppers from Red’s Roasters. I do love to roast my own peppers, but Red’s Roasters roasted chiles and veggies are seriously the best in Tucson!

INGREDIENTS
3 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded & roasted
1 fresno pepper, stemmed, seeded & roasted
9 strawberries
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 garlic clove, roasted
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS
Remove the stem and seeds from the peppers. Roast the bell peppers in a frying pan/comal over the stove at medium-high heat for five-six minutes (or until moderately charred on all sides). Roast the fresno and the garlic clove for 2-3 minutes (or lightly charred on all sides) Once completed transfer them to the blender.

Wash the strawberries and remove their tops. Then place the strawberries as well as the cilantro and lime juice in the blender. Purée for 30 seconds and then add the seasonings into the salsa. Blend for one minute and then pour into a bowl and refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving.