Peach Avocado Salsa

About this Recipe

I always love the concept of peaches, but once I get them I never end up using them.

This year was no exception. I bought one on a whim a couple of weeks ago and it sat for a week before I was making cherry pies (see Cherry Processing for more on that annual tradition), and I had some leftover Pie Crust to use. I pulled the peach out of the fridge where I stashed it when it got nice and soft to hopefully save it for when I got around to using it - luckily it worked! I made super lazy peach tarts by putting some brown sugar in the bottom of the tart crust and covering with thinly sliced peaches.

It was so. good. That peach was amazing!

So on my next trip to the store I was feeling good about the fact that I managed to remember to use a peach for once and bought more. 3 more. I don't know why I decided to triple down, but my intentions were good!

Fast forward to this weekend, and I had 3 very soft peaches and an avocado that has been ripe for at least a week in the fridge that I just needed to do something with. I probably could have just made guac and called it a day, but those peaches were staring at me down.

The peaches were so soft and sweet, and the avocado was very mellow, so I hoped they would mesh well, and tossed in the lime and some fresh garden basil for good measure. I had the urge to add some paprika at first, but am very glad I decided against it - I think it would have overpowered everything else! I am very glad I added the salt and pepper, the avocado really needed the extra kick and the peach could easily stand up to it.

As I was cleaning up I opened the fridge to put something away and wham. A container of feta just sitting there like it knew.

I put some (ok, a lot) on top, figuring once we dug into it it would mix in nicely.

When Eric walked over and asked what I was making and my response was "peach salsa" he just stared at me. He was clearly very skeptical and not at all excited... but then he tried it.

I think he's convert now.

Method

Zest the lime and set aside, then cut in half and juice into a small bowl with your chopped basil - I like to do a fine julienne for larger pieces of basil - and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Toss together and let sit while you prepare the rest. Try not to oversalt or pepper here, you can always add more later!

Peel and chop the peaches into 1/2" pieces. To peel you can use the blanching method, but I find it's just as easy to peel them with a paring knife after slicing into quarters.

Remove the pit from the avocado and using a spoon remove the inside from each avocado half, trying to keep it intact if possible.
Place the avocado on your cutting board with the flat side down. Cut into 1/2" pieces, the same size as your peaches.

Add the avocado and peaches to a bowl and lightly toss with lime zest, then add the lime juice and basil mixture and lightly toss until coated. Taste and see if you need to add salt or pepper - if you're going to be eating it with salted chips (recommended), factor that in as well if you don't think there's enough salt at this point.

Top with feta and serve!