Cherry Salsa
The prettiest cherries I’ve ever seen were on a drizzly day at a market in Trier, Germany. Coincidentally, the white asparagus was at its peak as well! This is a photo from 2006, while walking through a square on our way to lunch, where I failed miserably attempting to speak German!
Later on this trip, we visited the Schwarzwald, or the Black Forest region of Germany, known for Schwarzwald Torte, or Black Forest cake. At the Black Forest open-air museum we ran in to these ladies wearing their bollenhut.
The tradition is that the hats/bonnets with the giant cherry-red woolen bobbles must be worn while ladies are single. After the point they are married, they get to switch to a black version. I think I would have just moved to a different part of Germany.
Recently I was lucky enough to pick beautiful, ripe cherries from a friend’s trees. I wanted to create a recipe for cherry salsa.
Now I know that I’m the first to gripe when terms are loosely used in the culinary world – words like confit, coulis, pesto, and yes, salsa. But it’s the only word I could think of to describe this seasonal condiment.
It’s not cooked like a chutney, and it’s not a sauce. It is somewhere inbetween fresh tomato salsa and raw cranberry salsa.
For my cherry salsa I used fresh cherries, orange, cilantro, shallots and ginger. It has zing, a freshness, some tartness and sweetness. Serve it with any kind of meat and poultry, just like you would a chutney or cranberry sauce.
Fresh Cherry Salsa
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 shallot, minced
1 slice of ginger, approximately 1″ in diameter x 1/4″ thick, minced
Zest of 1 small orange
Juice of 1/2 orange
1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon agave, if cherries are tart
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cayenne
2 cups cherries, halved if they’re large
Combine the cilantro, shallot, ginger, and zest in a bowl. Add the liquids, the salt and cayenne.
Then add the cherries and stir gently to combine. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
I love using sesame seed oil, and I thought it would enhance the shallot, ginger, orange and cayenne.
Serve at room temperature.
I served the cherry salsa with a simple roast chicken and butternut squash.
The flavors are spectacular.
Lovely post Mimi! The photos and story from Germany are great. Those hats! Your idea for making salsa from the cherries is brilliant and I think it’s fine to use the ‘salsa’ term. I make a fresh mango salsa to go with griddled tuna.
Oh, that sounds really lovely! It’s fun to make different kinds of salsa!
Those cherries look fantastic as does the salsa. I could pretty much guarantee that I would’ve had a stomachache because I don’t know when to stop eating them 😊🍒
I love them too. And grapes! It’s hard to know when to quit!
What an innovative use of cherries. I would never of thought of using them not as a dessert.
Thank you! I wanted to use them in a raw state, and am pretty happy with the result!
Nice salsa.
Thank you!
Wow how beautiful! I just love those beautiful cherries with the roasted chicken.
Thank you. I was pretty proud of the results!
Oh, you were so close to where I live! Totally agree with you – I would move to another area if I had to wear a hat declaring my relationship status…
I love your picture with the cherries in the bowl by the window – gorgeous shot!
Then you live in a beautiful part of Germany. Although I thought every part we went to was beautiful as well. Can you imagine having to wear those hats?!!!
Love this!!! That cherry salsa looks delicious :)
Thank you so much!
Mimi, I just drove by the Black Forest today on my way to the airport in Frankfurt. The Black Forest is becoming quit a culinary destination , many new chefs are trying regional cuisine.
As to the cherry salsa, that’s brilliant. I love cherry sauce so why not cherry salsa. Thanks and have a great week,
Oh my goodness that must have been exhilarating! Such beautiful forests. When we went to Germany we landed in Frankfurt then stayed in St. Goar. A lovely start to a magnificent trip!
Oops I mean quite a destination
Fruit salsas are so great. Love the idea of using cherries, and the addition of ginger. The whole dish looks so very tasty and colorful! :)
Thank you! I was very pleased with it!
Those hats are ridiculous. I can see why you’d rather move!
I like your idea to use cherries, although I’d replace the cilantro with something else. When you leave the cherries whole like that, to me it’s perhaps more a cherry salad than salsa (in which I would expect chopped or minced cherries).
I wouldn’t have done well 100 years ago anywhere! I know you don’t love cilantro but I was kind of playing with the Asian theme. Parsley would be good, too. Salad, salsa. I don’t know. Cucumber and tomato salad, used as a condiment, is chopped. All of these terms are loosely used, so I think it’s more about the ingredients. And these cherries were small.
Those bonnets are, um, interesting. The recipe however really is interesting. 😊
No disrespect to Germans in that part of Germany but yikes! My mother is from Lorraine, France, near Alsace, and I thought those traditional outfits were a bit extreme!
I’m not sure, if you hope to marry off your daughter, putting bright red bobbles on her head is the way to go. 😄
Oh how yummy!! I never in a million years would have thought about a cherry salsa but this sounds WONDERFUL!! I love cherries and this will have to go on the to make soon list. Oh and I totally agree about those poor women in the cherry hats… I would have moved to another part of Germany too!!
I probably would have been ostracized because I would have been stubborn enough to refuse to wear the hat!
I concocted a Middle Eastern variant of a cherry sauce the other week. That was pretty good, but didn’t have the brightness of fresh cherries.
I love the look and description of your salsa. Will try to make it while cherries are still in season.
Greetings from Pforzheim, Germany, the northern gate to the Black Forest.
Best wishes, Alex
Oh I am so jealous! It’s such a beautiful area!
What a creative idea making cherry salsa! I bet it would also taste delicious on bruschetta.
OOhhh, that would be good!!!
Whatever you are calling it, it looks delicious…so summery!
Yeah! I agree!
that salsa sounds delicious! I’m a cherry fiend!
Thank you Cynthia!
Oh how we loved the markets in that area of Germany, especially the Freiburg one. Despite (like you) totally mangling the German language. Too many letters in every word. ;) Lovely cherries!
I practiced for hours to say ” I need to buy four tickets to st. goar.” the guy spoke in English back to me, of course. I totally blew it!
So funny! I started earlier to tell you that Steve practiced for a similar time to say: “Please grind this coffee for paper cone filter.” And the guy was like, “What?? Oh, you want it ground for paper cone filter” — of course in perfect English.
yeah, that’s so annoying. Oh well, maybe if we had been taught four languages growing up, or six, like in my mother’s case!
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
Thank you!
The salsa looks delicious. I have a theory that the hats were to scare off men from other regions so they could keep the gene pool nice and small. Oops, was that too mean?
Hahahahahahaha! Well I hope it worked!
The whole meal is perfect – nice pictures too!
Thank you! The cherries photographed so beautifully
I love fruit salsas! And cherries work particularly well. Haven’t made a cherry salsa for ages, but I happen to have some cherries in the house. Hmmm . . . :-) Fun read, great pictures — thanks.
Thank you! That means a lot!
What a beautiful meal, Mimi! I adore fresh cherries and love the idea of making a salsa with them :) Perfect ingredients!
Thank you very much!
Just lost my comment! It wouldn’t post unless I logged in or something. Great that you now have the .com – I can click on your link and now come straight across to your blog. Loved this post with its interesting story. How fortunate to be able to pick your own cherries – that is something I’ve never done. I must try to find some white asparagus when it’s next in season – it’s quite difficult to source xx
I’ve only seen white asparagus in Germany and France!
Love the pictures! Cherries are a favorite of mine in the summer and your cherry salsa looks amazing. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Thank you so much Sarah!
Those hats are hilarious and the salsa is spectacular. I’ve been berry picking but cherries picking sound even more fun. GREG
Except for the fact that you have to be on a ladder, yes, it was fun!
What a wonderful idea for a “salsa!” Thanks, Mimi!
Looks delicious, Mimi! And so summery too!
very! thank you!
I *love* cherries, but not enough to wear a cherry bonnet, no matter what color it might be. ;-) Think I’ll stick to eating them…
I don’t blame you!
What a creative idea for salsa, Mimi. It sure did brighten up your chicken entree, as it would just about anything it could be served alongside.
Thank you so much John!
This looks so pretty <3
Thank you so much!
Me Gusta Blog.
Gracias!
What a wonderful post, and such a delicious recipe! It seems quite fitting that I should stumble across your post for a cherry recipe, as I’ve just started a new business and blog selling handmade and luxury food from Belgium, and the first product I’ve talked about is cherries! thecraftybelgian.wordpress.com
I was very happy with my cherry creation! Good luck with your business!
Thank you so much! I’ve followed your blog, so I’ll be reading through some more of your creations soon!
This is the fun post! Love your cherry salsa and the addition of the orange, sesame oil and cayenne is brilliant! Your photos are just beautiful. Just pinned!
Thanks, Bobbi! Don’t you love those hats?!!
This recipe sounds absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to give it a try. The combination of flavors and ingredients are wonderful. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it’s going straight to my “must-try” list!
I’m honored! Thanks Bernadette!
The salsa sounds so so delicious mimi. I love cherries 🍒. And those hats are to die for. I want one:)
I wish I had a source for the hats! They would be great at a party!!!
This looks really delicious Mimi! You can have my share of the cilantro though!
Oh darn – you’re one of those!!!!!
Yep. Tastes like soap, and I’ve tried it many times over the years.
I love cherries but never thought to make salsa with them—what a wonderful idea! It looks delicious! :)
Thanks! It turned out so well.
That looks like something fun and different to try! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You are so welcome! It turned out really well.
Who cares what you call it – it looks fantastic and I can see it with chicken, as you did, but also with pork or venison! Yum.
I never tried it with goat cheese – I need to make it again!
This looks so attractive and delicious for Summer, such a clever idea. I can’t wait for cherries to be back in season so I can make this. Thanks for the inspiration Mimi.
Thanks, Pauline. The salsa turned out so good.
What a fun way to use cherries, Mimi! No matter what it’s called, I can see how these flavors go together – this recipe just screams summer to me! And thanks for the fun trip back to the Black Forest region, too.
You are so welcome! Such a beautiful part of Germany. Except for those hats….
This sounds so light, bright and fresh! Perfect for the summer!
Thanks, Cynthia!
The cherry, cilantro and sesame oil combo really intrigues me. Combined with such delicious colors and flavors I don’t think you could lose! Yum!
Thank you, Debra! I thought it was fabulous!!!
Cherries are one of my favorite summer treats–love them in this salsa and the plating of your chicken, squash and salsa is beautiful!
Thank you Jean! It turned out really nice I think!
I have never thought about making a cherry salsa but it looks delicious and fresh cherries are so plentiful at the moment I will have to give it a go! Thank you for the inspiration! Those hats… hmm ha ha I think I would move too!
Ha! Definitely! Hope you make this salsa!