It’s an unlikely combination, but one that works.

Like, really works.

It’s spring here in Texas, weather-wise if not quite calendar-wise yet. With all this beautiful weather comes a flood of fresh produce that no longer requires considering a second mortgage, unlike that sad-looking, coffee stirrer-thin asparagus for $5/lb that was out barely a month ago.

Strawberries are abundant, wonderful, and on sale everywhere right now. But since some of my favorite strawberry recipes involve flour and sugar – two things that I’m trying to avoid right now – we decided to try to be a little more creative and focus on more on non-baked-good alternatives.

Enter Strawberry-Avocado Salsa, stage right.

The salsa is simply a tomato-less twist on pico de gallo… with strawberries. And avocado. And orange and lemon juices in place of lime. But other than that, you know, it’s exactly the same kind of wonderful that goes great with fish and chicken and chips and tortillas.

We whipped up a batch for a tortilla- and chip-less (but not margarita-less!) taco night on the patio – and it was pretty perfect. There’s a lot going on with the salsa: heat from the pepper, the sweetness from the strawberries, the richness of the avocado, and the acidity from the citrus. And all that goes on top of smokey, grilled salmon filet.

Pretty perfect.

A white fish would work pretty perfectly, too. And so would chicken. A tortilla might make it even better… as would a side of tortilla chips to handle the leftover salsa.

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Salmon with Strawberry Avocado Salsa

Smokey grilled fish topped with a sweet-meets-heat salsa of strawberries and avocado.

Ingredients

• For the marinade:
• Juice and zest of 1/2 orange
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Small handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra for oiling grill grates)
• 4 salmon filets (~6 oz each)
• For the salsa:
• 1/2 pint of strawberries, hulled and diced
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1 jalapeno, seeded (or not) and diced
• Small handful of cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 orange
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Heat your grill/grill pan to medium-high and oil your grill grates to prevent the fish from sticking. (You can also do this under the broiler if it's too cold out.)
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients and then transfer to a shallow dish.
3. Place the fish skin-side up in the marinade and let sit for 10 minutes. (If you're using a skinless fish flip after 5 minutes; if using chicken, try to let it marinate for as long as possible.)
4. Transfer the fish to the grill, skin-side down and cook for ~10-12 minutes (4-6 under the broiler), until the thickest part of the fish is opaque.
5. While the fish is cooking, stir together the ingredients for the salsa in a medium bowl.
6. Serve the fish, seasoned with additional salt & pepper, topped with a generous scoop of salsa.

Notes

Yields: 4 servings

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 30 minutes