Grilled peach salsa

Great for snacking or with grilled meat or fish!

I love fruit salsas (this strawberry version and this cherry salsa are two of my favourites) and find that grilling the key components before making the salsa adds a ton of flavour. If you prefer, you can also grill the peaches and red pepper under a hot broiler or scorch them in a cast iron pan. Naturally, this salsa is fabulous with a big basket of tortilla chips, but I also love serving it with grilled chicken, pork and fish. If you like the flavour of grilled peaches you might also enjoy my grilled peach Bellini or my grilled peaches with chèvre and dukkah.

Ingredients

• 3 peaches (ripe but still firm)
• 1 small red pepper
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
• 1/3 cup (90 mL) minced red onion
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) maple syrup or honey (or more, to taste)
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) rice or cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) sriracha or other hot sauce (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) each salt and pepper (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped cilantro leaves

Method

• Preheat grill to medium-high.
• Peel peaches (this is easiest if you soak them in a bowl of boiling water for 2 minutes first) and halve, removing pits with the tip of a sharp knife. Cut pepper in half lengthwise, removing core and seeds.
• Brush both sides of the peach halves and pepper halves with the olive oil.
• Grill for 3-4 minutes per side, until lightly scorched. Remove from grill and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Once cooked, finely chop the grilled peaches and peppers and place them in a medium-sized bowl.
• Add the minced red onion, maple syrup, lime juice, vinegar, sriracha, salt and pepper. Stir and taste; adjust seasonings as needed.
• Just before serving, stir in the chopped cilantro.
• Leftover salsa can be covered and refrigerated for up to 48 hours.

Makes approximately 3 cups (750 mL).