Cucumber Peach Salsa

A sweet and savoury salsa made with garden fresh cucumbers and sweet autumn peaches. Quick, easy to make and for dipping with cinnamon pita chips or a topping for chicken or fish recipes like these Baja Fish Tacos or over Oven Baked Salmon.

There is nothing like fresh peaches in August especially living in Niagara, Ontario where we are known for our amazing peaches! I like to eat as many as I can while they are in season because the season is relatively short-lived. One of my favourite ways to eat them is in this Cucumber Peach Salsa recipe I adapted from a recipe I found in an old Bon Appetit cookbook I have kicking around.

How to peel peaches

You can certainly use a knife but that gets real messy and you end up cutting away a lot of the peach itself. But there is a much easier way!

• Boil a pot of water and then when boiling add the peaches carefully to the pot of boiling water for 1 minute.
• Then while the peaches are boiling fill a large bowl with cold water.
• After the minute of boiling remove the peaches from the boiling water gently using tongs and immediately plunge them into the bowl of cold water.
• Let the peaches cool for about 3-4 minutes. This is a method called blanching. Basically the peaches are now steaming off the hold their skins have on them. When they are done cooling gently pinch the skin of the peach and the skin should pull away easily.

Ingredients you will need

How to make cucumber peach salsa

1. First blanch and peel the peaches (see above).
2. Prepare the dressing. In a small bowl add the lemon juice and peach jam and mix to well to combine. If you don’t have peach jam you can substitute this for apricot jam or orange marmalade.
3. Chop the salsa ingredients. Peaches, cucumber, red pepper, jalapeno and cilantro.
4. Combine the ingredients. In a large bowl add all of the ingredients including the dressing. Toss and enjoy!

Quick tips!

• Look for ripe but firm peaches. If the peaches are too soft this salsa will be very wet and soggy.
• This salad doesn’t sit well for long so serve the day you are planning to enjoy it
• Use English cucumbers if possible. English cucumbers are less watery than the regular garden variety and have a little extra crunch.
• Add more heat to this peach salsa recipe easily by adding in more jalapeno or perhaps if you are really daring subbing the jalapeno our for a habanero pepper if you dare!

This recipe goes really well with cinnamon chips which are a snap to make using pitas.

how to make cinnamon pita chips

1. The pitas. I like to use Lebanese-style pitas when making pita chips because they are much thinner which when baked gives these chips a great crunch.
2. Cut the pitas. Using a sharp chopping knife lay the pitas flat and work your way around the pita cutting them into triangles just like you would a pizza. Do this with about 3 pitas.
3. Preparing the pitas. Add the pita pieces to a large bowl and add in a 1/4 cup of melted butter. Toss to coat.
4. Add the cinnamon sugar. Then add in a 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon. Toss to coat.
5. Baking the Cinnamon Pita Chips. Place the pita chips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F for about 5 minutes or until the pita chips are slightly browned and crispy. Remove from the oven and serve alongside the Cucumber Peach Salsa as your yummy dipping vehicle!

Other summer fruit recipes to try!

• Cherry Lime Smoothie
• Strawberry Rhubarb Overnight Oats
• Basil Peach Sorbet
• Pear and Blackberry Salad

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