Pomegranate-Avocado salsa

The salsa is in the bowl on the right

I’m back!

My final papers have all been turned in, I’m over my cold and I’m on vacation visiting my parents in Wisconsin. I also finally have time to cook — and to blog — again. And I apologize for not responding to some of the comments posted on my blog, but wordpress has been finicky and hasn’t told me when I’ve received any comments.

I thought I’d post the recipe for one of my favorite holiday party snacks — pomegranate avocado salsa. I’ve been making this for years, and it’s usually a hit at parties. It’s sweet, sour, spicy — all good things, in my opinion.

In order to make this, you need to take the seeds out of a large pomegranate. I’ve found that the easiest (and cleanest) way to do this is to fill a large bowl with water, place it in the sink, and slice a pomegranate in half with a knife on a cutting board. Then, transfer the pomegranate halves into the bowl of water. Use your hands to sort of massage the seeds out, and bend and peel the husk to work the seeds out under the water — this way the juice won’t splash everywhere and stain things. Also, the seeds sink to the bottom of the bowl, and the sticky white parts float to the top, so this the fastest way of taking seeds out that I have found so far.

I made this salsa for my family’s Christmas party last week, but I forgot to take photos. So I’ll have to make do with this photo from two years ago –the salsa is the dish on the right side.

Here’s the recipe – the amounts given are sort of fluid, so just base it on your preference – but here’s what I used at the most recent party.
 
Ingredients

*1 large (or 2 small), pomegranates
*2 avocados, diced
*1/2 jar of pineapple salsa (or regular salsa)

*1/4 cup chopped cilantro
*Juice of 1/2 – 1 lime
*1/2 mango, chopped into tiny pieces
 
Directions

1. Take the seeds out of the pomegranates. Chop up the avocados into pieces about the size of a thumbnail, or a bit larger. Mix with about the salsa. Then mix in chopped cilantro leaves. Cut up half a mango into very small pieces. Mix into bowl and squeeze the lime over it all. Mix again. If it looks too dry, go ahead and add more salsa to the mixture until it reaches the consistency you prefer.

 Set out with a bowl of tortilla chips and enjoy!

(Note: If you make this salsa for a party, you can do most of the work in advance and just add the avocado about an hour before serving time, so it doesn’t start discoloring. I’ve found that the lime juice tends to keep the avocado in this salsa green, however, for hours)