Blueberry Salsa with Cilantro and Jalapeno

We've got just a few days left here in Florida, and I'm still trying to empty out my fridge/freezer and resist buying anything new from the store.  And there was a bag of frozen blueberries that I bought for smoothies, but I'm a creature of habit and always go for the frozen banana instead.  I already knew I was making fish for dinner, and figured a blueberry salsa would go nicely.  Whipped this up real quick with a few other pantry staples.

As mentioned, I used frozen blueberries, and I think these would be preferable to fresh because they get all juicy when they thaw.  However, fresh would still work, you just might want to do a little extra muddling and maybe cut in half if you have larger berries.  You could also try cooking fresh berries for 10 minutes or so on the stove to break them down a little more.

I also really wanted to use lime or lemon juice in this, but didn't have any.  So I made do with a little rice vinegar, and I think it turned out great. If you have lime or lemon juice, though, you might want to give that a try!

I served this on top of broiled flounder fillets seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Thought about adding cumin to the salsa as well, but went with it just on the fish.  If I were serving this with something like plain chips, I'd probably add the cumin to the salsa to boost the flavor.

What you need:

1 1/2-2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed (I recommend Trader Joe's wild Boreal blueberries... they are so much better than any other frozen blueberries I've ever bought!)

1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro, thickest stem end removed

2 jalapenos, diced, seeds and pith removed

2-3 tablespoons diced onion

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste (I probably added somewhere around 1/2 teaspoon of each)


Simply mix all ingredients together, mashing lightly to help the blueberries break down a little.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes, and preferably for a couple hours, before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant Strips with Cilantro-Yogurt Sauce and Cilantro-Olive Gremolata

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables and roasting or grilling strips of it is one of the tastiest way to make it.  And definitely the quickest.  

Some people say they don't like eggplant.  My guess is that a lot of them just haven't had it cooked right.  The first time I had eggplant was as a child in a casserole, and it was not cooked enough.  And eggplant when it's not cooked enough is not very tasty, no matter what it's got going on for seasoning. 

Cutting the eggplant into fairly thin strips keeps the cooking time low, and takes away some of that "eggplanty" texture that eggplant haters don't like.  

I most often roast the eggplant in the oven, because I often don't have access to a grill, or if I do, the weather is not grill weather.  If you do have a grill and the weather isn't frightening, cut the strips the same way and grill over medium-high until tender.  If you are really short on time (or patience) you can broil the strips in the oven in under ten minutes- just keep a close eye, or you'll end up with charcoal.

Once roasted or grilled, the eggplant makes a great topper for pizza or salad, and is also great just by itself.  Or, you can fancy it up with a couple of delicious sauces like I did here.  I use cilantro in both of my sauces because I happened to have half of a bunch leftover.  I think it worked really well, but if you're not a cilantro fan, or you have half of a bunch of parsley instead, that would be a great substitute.

What you need for the eggplant:

4 small eggplant, or two medium/large

Olive oil spray or olive oil

Salt 

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Slice the eggplant into ~1/4 inch thick strips or rounds. Lightly spray two baking sheets with olive oil.  Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheets so that they are not overlapping.  Touching is perfectly fine.  Spray or brush with olive oil.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Roast for 20-30 minutes, switching the pans halfway through.  Cooking time will vary based on how thin your strips are.  The eggplant is ready when it is soft and lightly browned.

Serve with the Cilantro Yogurt Sauce and/or the Cilantro-Olive Gremolata.  I placed a small spoonful of the sauce on each strip of eggplant and then rolled them up to eat.  You could spread the sauce across and use a knife if you want to keep your hands clean. 

Enjoy!

What you need for the Cilantro Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt (2-4% is best, but you can use fat free if you wish)

~1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Mix together all ingredients.  Let sit for at least 20 minutes to let flavors meld.

What you need for the Cilantro-Olive Gremolata:

~2/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped green olives (I used the ones with pimientos)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

Black pepper and sea salt to taste

Mix together all ingredients.  Let sit for at least 20 minutes to let flavors meld.

Tomatillo and Poblano Green Salsa

Salsa is a wonderful thing.  Super flavorful, fresh, spicy, and healthy!  Obviously it's great with chips, but its possibilities do not end there.  Salsa also adds great flavor as a topping on all sorts of meat, chicken, or fish, is a great substitute for dressing on a salad, and can be used as a dip for fresh vegetables (try jicama slices or cucumber!).  This time around, mine accompanied a carne asada salad with a sprinkling of queso fresco.

We're fans of all sorts of salsa varieties around here, but lately have been on a big green salsa steak.  Sadly, most of the best ones we've tried can get pretty expensive (especially when you go through a jar in one sitting).  The good news: making your own is surprisingly simple and just (if not more) tasty.   It turns out a beautiful vibrant green color that definitely outshines store bought salsas.

This recipe is modified from the one I found here on the Food Network site.

What you need:
~7-8 small to medium tomatillos (around 1.25 pounds probably)
2 poblano peppers
1-2 cloves of garlic
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
large handful of cilantro (about packed 1/2 cup)
salt to taste
water (possibly)

Start by roasting the tomatillos and the peppers.  This can be done a couple different ways.  Either way, you want to leave them long enough that they get splotchy black blisters on both (or multiple) sides.

The first method is to place the tomatillos and peppers on a baking sheet and broil on high for about 5 minutes, flip over, and then broil another 5 minutes on the other side.  Probably the method I'd usually use, but my oven was otherwise occupied.

The second method is to char them on the stovetop.  This worked really well for me on my gas stove- I'm not positive it would work as well on electric since they don't seem to get as hot.  Simply heat a large frying pan over high heat and add the whole tomatillos and peppers.  Stir/flip every couple minutes, allowing them time to get a little char on the downside.  Once they are spotted with black blisters everywhere, they're good to go.

After charring, you can put the peppers in a brown bag to steam for 10-15 minutes so that you can peel the skin off.  I skipped this.

The next step is to puree everything together- the tomatillos, peppers, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and salt.  I did this is batches in my new tiny blender since I had to leave my Vitamix behind for a little while :-( .  You could use an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender.  I had to add 1/3-1/2 water, but if you're using a Vitamix or immersion blender, you might be able to skip that and have a bit thicker salsa.

And done!  Enjoy with everything. :-)