It's no secret I'm obsessed with heirloom tomatoes, and before summer comes to a close, I like, check that, LOVE to make salsas combining summer fruit and heirlooms.
I went to the Davis farmers market and found the most delectable white plums. These babies were like sinking your teeth into nature's candy.
And from an organic farmer next door were a box of cosmetically challenged heirloom tomatoes on sale for a discounted price. I asked the woman at the check out stand why these tomatoes were considered cosmetically challenged because:
1. They looked fine to me
2. Heirlooms by nature are "flawed" looking because of their odd shapes and colors.
I use the word flawed and parenthesis only to be sarcastic. The woman told me that even for selling standards, these heirloom tomatoes were considered too flawed looking. Personally, I think that is spliting hairs. One reason I love heirlooms is because they all have their own color, shape, and sizes. They do not look like your standard perfect looking homogenized red tomato in your standard grocery store.
I am all about tomato diversity!
Getting off the soapbox now, and back to yummy sweet fruity salsa. You would make this salsa like any other salsa. The only difference is adding in chopped plum, or any other fun summer fruit like peaches, nectarines, or apricots. I like plums the best in fruity salsa because they are not too sweet and compliment tomatoes well.
And speaking of tomato diversity, make your salsa bright and colorful and use different colored tomatoes besides red. I especially love the yellow and orange heirloom tomatoes.
Ingredients (makes about 1-1/2 cups salsa):
- 1 cup chopped heirloom tomato
- 1/3 cup chopped plum
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 lime
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (use more if you like cilantro)
- 3 pinches of sea salt
- 2 pinches garlic powder (optional)
Put the tomato, plum, onion in a bowl. Sprinkle on the salt and squeeze the juice of the lime onto the ingredients and mix well.
Toss in the cilantro and mix some more. Chill in fridge for 10-15 minutes.
Serve deliciously cold!