Salsa Two Ways – Sweet and Spicy

She wanted Mexican food, so I decided to make slow cooked beef Barbacoa-style soft tacos. I wanted to make two different salsas, one that was a little sweet and one that had a slight kick. It was Deinah’s birthday, so I wasn’t going to do anything crazy spicy. (If you prefer a roasted salsa, you can check out my older sister Louise’s Simple Salsa.)

So in honour of Cinco de Mayo, and my sister, here are some salsa to enjoy – on your tacos or with tortilla chips – while you are having a cold beer or margarita and celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Mild Mango Salsa (Sweet)

This has a gorgeous range of colours and will add a beautiful pop to your table – and your tastebuds!

Prep time: 30 minutes; Chill time: 1 hour – overnight; Makes: 4 -6 cups

What you need:

• 2 mangos diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 jalapeño, finely minced
• 1/4 red onion medium sized, finely chopped
• 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped (if you hate cilantro, like Pete, omit this)
• 1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 lime juice & zest
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp olive oil

What you do:

• In a bowl, mix together olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, cumin, oregano, sugar and salt, stir well

• Add mangoes, pepper, jalapeño, onion, cilantro and mint to bowl

• Add oil-lime-spice mix to mango/pepper mix

• Stir well

• Refrigerate for 1 hour (or up to the day before) and serve. I just love the colours in this!

Quick Fresh Tomato Salsa 

Prep time: 15 minutes; Chill time: 1 hour – overnight; Makes: 2 cups

What you need:

• 1/2 container (roughly 20) grape tomatoes sliced in half
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño, roughly chopped (Want more of a kick? Use a whole jalapeño or pickled jalapeño.)
• 1/8 red onion medium sized, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of cilantro, torn (if you hate cilantro, omit this)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 10 grinds fresh pepper

What you do:

• In a food processor (I used my Magic Bullet) add all ingredients

• Blend to desired consistency (I like it slightly chunky for chips and smoother for tacos)
• Refrigerate for 1 hour (or up to the day before)
• Leftover salsa can also be used as a really flavourful low-calorie salad dressing