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All this unseasonably warm weather in Knoxville has awoken cravings for water-rich fruits. But it's still February, so let's raid the citrus and frozen aisles of the grocer to scratch that itch.
This guy is really a cross between a salad and salsa fresca, since it gets a bona fide dose of dressing. But no matter. It still eats great on a corn chip. So, to your totally satisfying base of sweet-tart pineapple chunks, earthy black beans, gently piquant poblano, and fragrant green onions, you'll add a dressing of cilantro and mint, which pairs wonderfully with fruit. To really drive that home, you'll use a base of orange juice (also some lime), then give the whole thing a little body with olive oil and a little pine nuts. It's simple, fresh, criminally easy to make, and entirely lovable. Get munching.
Pineapple, Black Bean and Poblano Salsa Fresca
serves 4-6
For the salsa:
1 15-oz can black beans
2 cups frozen pineapple chunks, thawed (or use roughly 1-inch fresh chunks)
1 medium poblano pepper, trimmed, seeded, and de-veined
2 scallions, trimmed
zest of 1/4 orange (app 1/2 tsp)
fine sea or kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
For the dressing:
1/4 cup tightly packed cilantro
1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
2 TBSP pignoli (pine nuts)
3 TBSP orange juice
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP lime juice
1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt
Drain and rinse beans in a sieve. Set aside to let drain thoroughly.
Meanwhile, chop pineapple chunks into roughly 1/2-inch chunks and transfer to a serving bowl. Chop poblano into small 1/4-inch dice and add to bowl. Finely slice tops and bottoms of scallions and add to bowl. Grate orange zest (before juicing the orange), add to mixing bowl, and set aside.
Make dressing by puréeing all ingredients until well blended, about 20 seconds. Add dressing, to taste, to mixing bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. (You may have a few tablespoons of dressing left over—if so, it works well as a green salad dressing, too.) Season to taste with freshly cracked black pepper and, gently, with salt (if serving with salted chips, you may not want to salt further at all).
Salsa can be served at once, but benefits from an hour's rest in the fridge for the dressing flavors to come together and season the fruit, veggies, and beans.