Tart Cherry Salsa

This is one of those times where I had a dish in mind, and some internet perusing for a recipe netted nothing (I'm not saying it's not out there - I didn't look very hard, but most search engines tend to assume that when you want a tart cherry tomato salsa, you're looking for a salsa made from cherry tomatoes).

A good cherry salsa recipe has been on my radar ever since a trip up to Glen Arbor's Cherry Republic, where I had tasted some of their cherry products ranging from sweet to savory.

My recipe is vaguely reminiscent of this one, which is actually from the Cherry Republic (that was just a happy accident, although in retrospect maybe I should have started there).  I wanted a cooked salsa that included tomatoes.  They use cherry jam in this recipe and I just went straight for the cherries, so I'm sure the recipe I linked to is a much sweeter recipe, while the one below is a savory, spicy salsa.

Tart Cherry Tomato Salsa
Ingredients:

• 2 c. tart cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
• 2 c. roma tomatoes, chopped (3 to 4 tomatoes)
• 2 jalapenos, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• 3 to 4 tbs cornstarch
• zest and juice from 1 lime

Instructions:
1.  Mix everything except for the lime and corn starch in a medium sauce pan.  Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to simmer.
2.  Gently add the cornstarch, stirring to remove any lumps.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
3.  Let cool.  Mix in the lime zest and juice.

Note1:  Since it was cooked, the jalapenos did not overwhelm everything with heat.  That being said, if you don't like it spicy, either remove the pith and seeds from the jalapenos, or choose a mild pepper to add instead.
Note2:  I wanted this to be a thick salsa.  If you want a thinner salsa, then by all means omit or reduce the cornstarch.

This salsa was really great with some blue corn tortilla chips.  It was even better with the recipe I'll be posting next Friday :)