Pineapple Mango Salsa
Yield about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peeled diced ripe mango

• 1 cup diced pineapple

• 1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper, or cubanelle pepper

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

• 3 tablespoons lime juice

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 jalapeno pepper finely chopped

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate at least an hour for flavors to meld.

When visiting family in San Antonio over the holidays, we couldn’t find cranberries to go with our holiday Turkey, so I decided to let the rich Mexican culinary tradition of Texas inspire me. Instead of my traditional cranberry relish, I came up with this colorful Pineapple-Mango Salsa using readily available ingredients from the local supermarket. I chose to use ripe yellow Ataulfo (Honey) mangoes because the larger more common red/orange Haden mangoes were not ripe. If you don’t want to buy and clean a whole pineapple, look for fresh, cleaned, and cored pineapples in the refrigerated fruit section of your supermarket. The sweet-tart, savory taste and crunchy texture with a hint of heat from the jalapeño in the salsa complement rich poultry dishes like roast turkey or grilled chicken. It’s a natural fit with spicy grilled shrimp, barbecue pork spare ribs, or as a side with roast or seared duck. If you don’t like cilantro, fresh mint would be a suitable substitute. Lesson learned: “When cooking in Texas, remember the Alamo and be open to cooking as the Mexicans do.”