Spicy and sweet is basically my favorite flavor combination. I really can’t get enough spice on things; peppers, hot sauce, spices, rubs, I love it ALL. Except, there was this one time where I maybe went a little…overboard.
My dad and I have been roasting our own hot peppers since I can remember. Probably for at least 12 years now, but who’s counting. We generally like a mix of jalapeños, long hots, sweet bell peppers, and maybe a poblano or two. There’s no rhyme or reason, really.
One fine day, we walked into the grocery and saw the most BEAUTIFUL, tiny red peppers. “What is a habanero?” we thought. Naturally, we took them home to cook up with the rest of the peppers. If you’ve never encountered a habanero before, please consider yourself lucky and heed my advice when I tell you not to eat them whole. If you have, go ahead and laugh away because you know what’s happening next.
Our first clue to their deadliness should have been the amount of eye burning smoke the pan was letting off as we cooked. Like the two daredevils we are, we proceeded to each pop one whole in our mouths atop a crostini. Folks – that thing actually burnt the outside of my mouth. My lips were seared and bright red, we were seeping tears and sweat and I think we downed a gallon of milk in an afternoon.
Moral of the story…I won’t be putting habaneros in our salsa today…but you can be sure there will be jalapenos and some serious, sweet heat.
I’m all about a juxtaposition with my food. If it’s smooth and creamy, I have to have a crunchy (hello, avocado toast), and I can’t each something rich without having a bright and fresh side.
This Spicy Basil Fruit Salsa somehow brings all of my favorite components together into one singular bite. It’s sweet, spicy, bright, and when nestled into a little tortilla chip, oh so crunchy.
Start by chopping up your red onion, I like mine really finely diced so it isn’t overpowering. Add your lime juice, which will actually cook the onion a little and take a lot of that pungent flavor away. While that sits for about 20-30 mins, chop up the rest of your vegetables & fruits. You can roll your basil and chop it horizontally to julienne, and then give a few rough chops to break it to smaller pieces. I really recommend fresh basil for this one.
Always cut your jalapeno last and I wear gloves when cutting mine because I wear contacts. Yeah, that was another one of my hot pepper debacles. Jalapeno juice in the eyeball.
I digress; add your fruits & veggies to the bowl with the onion and lime juice. Measure in the spices & basil and mix on up.
I like to let this sit a while before serving to let the flavors meld, say 30 mins or so, but you can dig in right away if you please! Best served with a side o’ tortilla chippies.
Spicy Basil Fruit Salsa
{gluten free, dairy free, grain free}
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 mango – cubed
- 1 1/2 cup of strawberries – chopped
- 1 yellow pepper (any color really, I just like to be colorful)
- 1 jalapeno
- 1/4 of a red onion
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp maple syrup
- 4 large fresh basil leaves – julienned & chopped
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp of cayenne
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/4 tsp of pepper
Instructions
- Finely chop the red onion and squeeze lime juice on top into a bowl.
- Let this sit for 20-30 mins.
- Chop all of the fruit and vegetables once the onion has marinated.
- Add to onion and lime.
- Measure out the spices and add to the other ingredients.
- Mix well.
- Let this sit for 20-20 minutes or longer before serving with tortilla chips or a vessel of your choice!
DON’T FORGET TO PIN ME FOR LATER:
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
Oh no! I can definitely see myself making the same mistake with habaneros!! Thanks for the warning (hopefully I’ll remember!!) This salsa looks great – I love this flavor combo 🙂
allmcd3 says
Hahaha I hope you remember!!!! They aren’t bad in dishes, but whole and plain…WOWZAAAAA.
Rebecca Dickinson says
Love the flavor combo! I have never thought to mix basil with fruit… genius!
allmcd3 says
Right??! Esp. mango! It was a total fluke and I loved it! lmk if you try, girl.
Aya @ A Healthy Story says
This looks absolutely amazing! I’m a huge tortilla chip fan and this would make the perfect summer weekend afternoon snack. I have to make it asap!
allmcd3 says
Let me know if you do, girl!!!!!! Thank you!
Farrah says
I love fruit salsa, but I’ve never tried making it spicy before–this sounds delicious! <3
allmcd3 says
Thank you SO much!!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O well this salsa is balanced perfectly! Yum!
allmcd3 says
Thank you! I totally agree, spicy and sweet = perfect balance.
Kelly @ Eat the Gains says
I love the sweet and spicy combo too! I pretty much put hot sauce on just about anything! I can’t believe you ate a whole habanero! I can only imagine how painful that was…at least it is funny in retrospect?! haha
allmcd3 says
OMG, so funny in retrospect! I was very uneducated in foodie knowledge then BAHAHA! And YES to hot sauce on errrythang.
Liz @ tHe Clean Eating Couple says
This looks SO yummy! I have to try it ASAP
allmcd3 says
Thank you!!!! Let me know when ya do!
Macy @ Paleo Crumbs says
This looks refreshing and delicious! and I love the combination of sweet and savory in this salsa!
allmcd3 says
Thanks so much, Macy!
Beverley @ Born to Sweat says
i’ve done that before with jalapenos and it was the worst feeling EVER. tears were everywhere haha. this sounds delicious, i love mixing spice with fruit.
allmcd3 says
OK, I totally feel better that someone else has done this! And same here, girl!