Roasted Pineapple Salsa

This salsa is really good. Especially on carnitas tacos. But what I've been totally obsessed with ever since I went grocery shopping is the fact that the store only had gigantic containers of habaneros. I mean truly enormous (I'm guessing about 50 habaneros in each). And I wasn't at Costco (or similar warehouse type store). Those peppers are damn hot. Who the hell is using that volume of habaneros at home? I actually asked that out loud in front of two produce guys (it's not as bad as it sounds, my husband was standing nearby). One of the guys echoed my sentiment back to me. The other one said I'd be surprised how many people make large quantities of salsa at home. I didn't even know what to say to that. So I just stuck a few jalapeños in the cart. But I can't get it out of my head for some reason. Like I want to stakeout the produce department and catch someone actually buying these habaneros and find out what their plan is. When I'm feeling fairly normal, it's stuff like this that reminds me that I'm slightly mental. Of course I haven't actually been on a stakeout yet, so there's still hope. 

ROASTED PINEAPPLE SALSA

Makes 2 1/2 cups

4 (1/2-inch-thick) round slices fresh pineapple (1/2 pineapple)

1/4 cup mild olive oil or vegetable oil

1 medium red onion, finely chopped (1 cup)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste

2 fresh habanero chiles, minced, including seeds

1/2 teaspoon fine salt, or 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1.      Set the oven to broil (alternatively, you can preheat the oven to 500° F) and preheat, or heat a lightly oiled grill pan over medium heat. If you're using the oven broiler, position the rack 8 inches from the heat source.

2.      Brush the pineapple slices with some of the oil and roast or grill them until they're browned on both sides and tender, 5 to 6 minutes a side on the grill pan, or 8 minutes a side under the broiler. Let them cool to room temperature.

3.      Dice the pineapple (about 1/8 inch), discarding the core, and mix it in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to one day.

from Epicurious, April 2011 (from Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibañez with JJ Goode)

pineapple

I used my apple corer to core the pineapple.
Then I realized it wasn't necessary because I was just
going to chop them up later and cut around the core.

pineapple rings

roasted pineapple rings

I used the broiler. I was going to grill them,
but it was raining and didn't seem worth it.

cilantro

pouring lime juice over chopped pineapple, red onion,
cilantro and the aforementioned habanero substitute 

roasted pineapple salsa

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Grilled Pineapple and Banana with Honey-Lime Sauce

I'm going to have to go ahead and declare the scrumptious honey-lime sauce as the undisputed superstar of this dish. As much as I enjoyed grilling the fruit, which was definitely fun and delicious, the sauce made me utter an audible "mmm" (and I think my eyes may have rolled back in my head a little).

At that moment, I was thrilled I'd had the foresight to double the sauce. I was serving the grilled fruit with vanilla ice cream and thought it would be nice to have plenty of extra sauce to drizzle over the top. It was. Turns out it's also nice downed straight from a shot glass (or so I've heard).

GRILLED PINEAPPLE AND BANANA
WITH HONEY-LIME SAUCE

Yield: about 3 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

4 pineapple rings, peeled and cored (1/2-inch-thick)

4 large bananas (ripe, but still firm), peeled and left whole or sliced in half lengthwise

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1.     Place butter, honey, brown sugar, and lime juice in small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add seeds and bean (or vanilla extract). Bring to simmer over medium heat, whisking until smooth. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Remove vanilla bean and rewarm sauce before using.

2.     Preheat barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush both sides of pineapple and banana with sauce. Grill about 1-2 minutes per side.

3.     Transfer pineapple to plate; cut into 1/2-inch cubes and place in large bowl (leaving juices behind). Cut the grilled bananas into 1-inch chunks and add to bowl with pineapple. Mix in the remaining sauce.

adapted from Dede Wilson

limes ready for juicing
(the zest was for making lime-cilantro butter)

pouring in the honey

Remember, this is a double batch.

melted and ready

I didn't have a vanilla bean, so I used homemade vanilla extract
(which I love because the vanilla seeds are still in there).

pineapple rings & sliced banana, coated with a little honey-lime sauce

pineapple rings and sliced bananas on the grill

The bananas do cook faster than the pineapple, so keep your
eye on them. It's normal for them to get a little mushy (but in
a good way) when mixed with the sauce. Make sure they're firm
to begin with (otherwise they'll be extremely difficult to turn
over and remove from the grill. Come to think of it, maybe it
would be smarter to keep them whole (I'll try that next time).

pineapple rings just about done

pineapple rings off the grill and on a plate (to catch the juices)

cut grilled pineapple

served with vanilla ice cream

The grilled, hot fruit makes the ice cream get all melty
and then sauce commingles with all of it. Fabulous.

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Pineapple Ginger Jam

Isn't it amazing that you can reduce an entire pineapple into one jar? I guess I've got the jam bug. I haven't dived into canning yet...I think for now, one jar at a time works for me. I'll leave preserving for those of you with lush gardens and green thumbs (the way I'm always bumping into stuff, mine is more black & blue).

PINEAPPLE GINGER JAM

Makes 2 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 (4 lb.) pineapple, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch rings, cored & coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)

1/4 cup finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

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1.      In a heavy pan combine the sugar and water, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and boil the syrup until it registers 220° F. on a candy thermometer.

2.      Stir in the pineapple and the ginger and simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring to prevent scorching, for 1 hour, or until it registers 220° F. on a candy thermometer.

3.      Leave chunky or blend until smooth. Store in glass jars in the refrigerator.

slightly adapted from Gourmet Magazine, May 1991

peeled pineapple
(just slice the thick skin off with a sharp knife)

sliced pineapple

chopped pineapple
(if you like your jam chunky, you might want to chop yours finer)

chopped ginger

sugar syrup

pineapple and ginger added

after about 20 minutes

after 1 hour
out comes the thunderstick (obviously I chose to blend mine)

jam

spreading on some matzo

golden and sweet
(the ginger gives it a small amount of kick that's excellent!)

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