Avocado and Orange Salsa

Here is a fresh take on chips and salsa or chips and guacamole. It's sort of like gualsa, but that just doesn't sound right.  Call it what you will. It is a great dish to bring to parties and has a burst of orange sweetness in every bite with some heat from the jalapenos.

Avocados are another food that I didn't really eat until after college, which seems so weird now.  My son Max was eating guacamole when he was a year and a half.   But he also eats edamame which, again, I didn't even know about ‘til maybe ten years ago. My friend Hillary really got me hooked on avocados when we moved to Crested  Butte after we graduated.  I was skeptical but it didn't take more that a taste of her guacamole to turn me into a fan.  Avocados are a great source of healthy monounsaturated fat, are the best fruit source of Vitamin E, and studies show certain compounds in avocados help to prevent certain diseases like cancer and heart disease.    Eat 'um up folks!

This is another recipe I adapted from the amazing cookbook Ripe by Cheryl Sternman Rule.   The photography is enough to make each dish look truly delicious and this recipe is just that.

The hardest part to this recipe is segmenting the orange.  But once you know how to do it, it's actually pretty quick.   I use a serrated paring knife and cut off the rind on one end to make a flat area.  Then from top to bottom, I cut off the rind.  After all the rind is off,  I cut segments in between the white pith.  Then I dice the avocado, usually while still in the skin and gently squeeze the pieces out.

Avocado and Orange Salsa (makes about 3 cups) (adapted from Ripe by Cheryl Sternman Rule)

• 4 Oranges (or tangerines) cut in pieces with white pith removed (see above on easy way to do this)

• 3 avocados, diced

• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped

• 1-2 TBS minced jalapeno, seeds removed (use more or less depending on your heat tolerance)

• 1 TBS fresh Cilantro

• minced zest of 1 lime

• Juice of 1 lime

• Sea Salt

1. Mix together oranges and avocados. 

2. Add jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and zest, and cilantro. 

3. Add salt to taste.  

4. Mix together and serve with tortilla or pita chips.