This is a light and fresh summer recipe with a surprising melon salsa. In summer…
Jalapeno Fruit Salsa — for dessert!
A client I’ve enjoyed developing recipes for over the years is Häagan-Dazs Ice Cream. The projects are usually to create a recipe with a new ice cream flavor, so I get a sample carton before it’s even on the grocery shelf. Often. my first thought is. “this ice cream is already so delicious, what dessert can I create to make the ice cream even better?” But I always come up with ideas, and oh well, someone has to do it!
A few years ago Mayan Chocolate was the new flavor up for experimentation. My family had just vacationed in Cabo San Lucas and one of my daughters thought fruit salsa would be a natural for the Mexican-themed ice cream. Why not? I experimented with fresh fruits and various heat-producing ingredients like jalapeno, ground cayenne pepper, and crystallized ginger. My favorite combinations were strawberries and mango with jalapeno, and strawberries and pineapple with ginger.
Sadly for this recipe, the Mayan Chocolate was a short-run special flavor no longer available. But any good dark chocolate ice cream would be excellent runners up.
Don’t be shy with the hot pepper in the salsa because dairy neutralizes some of the capsaicim, which is the heat producing compound in chiles. To get the full flavor contrast of heat and sweet with the chocolate ice cream, the salsa needs to be spicy. Hope you like it!
An original recipe by Rosemary Mark for Häagan–Dazs Photo: Eskite Photography
Jalapeno Fruit Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced strawberries 1/4-inch
- 1 cup diced mango 1/4-inch
- 1-2 Tbsp. minced jalapeno or serrano chile pepper heat varies, you may need a little more or less
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
Instructions
- Combine strawberries and mango. Stir in chile and sugar. Adjust amount of chile to taste.
- Let stand at room temperature 1 hour for flavors to blend. (Or refrigerate up to 12 hours.) Spoon over servings of chocolate ice cream.
Ginger Fruit Salsa variation
- Substitute diced pineapple for mango, and chopped crystallized ginger for the chile.
Wow – Jalapeno’s on ice cream? I’ll have to give that a try…
The heat and crunch of the jalapeno is a pleasant surprise. Hope you like it!
This is wonderful! I’ve always loved chopped up fruit on top of my ice cream, but never thought to make a salsa. I wish I had seen this earlier this summer, I would have been addicted to it, I’m sure! Thanks for sharing this, Rosie!
Georgia – There is always next summer for the strawberry salsa! Or how about a Fall pear or apple salsa ice cream topping with your two ‘Fall friends’ – cinnamon and nutmeg http://comfortofcooking.blogspot.com/2010/09/quick-easy-apple-tart.html