Bright and juicy salsa for spring

Cinco de Mayo arrives Monday, and our regional BerryFest Strawberry Festival is May 10-11 (Mother's Day weekend) in Woodland. Today's recipe covers all the bases for these celebrations: Strawberry salsa is fresh and bright and just spicy enough, perfect with chips and a classic margarita or grilled chicken and cerveza. 

The salsa is best served the day it's made, and fortunately goes together easily.

Some chopping (by hand or with a small electric chopper) is required for the jalapeño, onion and cilantro, but the strawberries really should be hulled and diced by hand. You don't want those gorgeous in-season berries pulverized!

Note: If you're not a cilantro fan, try chopped mint (spearmint, not the sweeter peppermint) or a combination of mint and parsley as a substitute.

Fresh strawberry salsa

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

Zest and juice from 1 lime

1-1/2 teaspoons honey or agave syrup

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, about half a bunch

1 large fresh jalapeño, seeds removed and diced

Half of a medium red onion, diced

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 pint (2 cups) fresh strawberries, hulled

Chips for serving

Additional salt, lime juice or honey to adjust seasoning, as desired

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest and honey or agave. Add the salt and cilantro,  then stir in the jalapeño and onion. Add the ground black pepper. Carefully stir in the strawberries.

Taste and adjust the seasonings now or, if you have time, wait 30 minutes, stir gently and taste after flavors have blended a bit. Add more lime juice or honey if needed. If you plan to serve the salsa with tortilla chips, taste it with a chip before you add more salt to the salsa -- the chips may be plenty salty already.

Leftovers, if any, can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Adding a bit more lime juice can brighten up leftover salsa.