Zesty Cherry Salsa

"...it's so fresh, it makes you think of summer"
-Aaron Dennis, my devoted taste tester


I guarantee that with every bite, you'll be sayin, "God damn!"

This salsa recipe spawned from trying to "reconfigure"--geekspeak thanks to being constantly plugged in--two more flavorful versions of something I grew up on (which sadly, was that blasphemous Old El Paso variety).

Everytime I go to my Grammie and Pa's, they always unveil a food spread that has me coming back for seconds and thirds and... A staple of theirs is a simple fresh salsa which resembles gazpacho. I got the recipe from them and finally decided to take it for a spin. While the tastebuds were processing the finished product, the mind wandered to a palatable, slightly sweet salsa from Traverse City's own, Cherry Republic. Eureka! I looked at the remnants of a 4 pound box of dried cherries in my kitchen and went to work.

Here it is:

Zesty Cherry Salsa

Ingredients:

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 12 oz can of tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 celery sticks, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 vine ripened tomatoes, diced
1 large Spanish onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
freshly squeezed juice of two lemons (please don't do bottled lemon juice)
freshly ground black peppercorns, to taste
salt, to taste
3/4 cup dried cherries
food processor or blender

Directions:

1. Best prepared one day in advance, trust me.
2. Combine all the ingredients but cherries, in a large bowl.
3. Remove about one third of the combined salsa and place in food processor.
   
4. Add cherries.
5. Process until fairly smooth.
6. Recombine with the reserved ingredients, mix well. You'll notice the beautiful rich burgundy color imparted by the cherries.
   
7. Let sit for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator, flavors will get richer over time.
8. Makes about 2-3 liters!! A-ma!
9. Best combined with lime tortilla chips. The tastes commingle in a way that will make your tongue vibrate. Zing of the acid plus the sweet of the salsa is award-winning.
   

Hope you dig...