Pomegranate salsa is sweet and spicy. A festive holiday appetiser or winter snack. Try it with tortilla chips or whipped goat cheese for a creamy base on crostini or toasted pita.
– 2 cups pomegranate arils (about 2 pomegranate’s worth) – ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion – ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro – 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (use a smaller jalapeño for less heat, or leave in some seeds for more heat) – ½ teaspoon lime zest – 2 tablespoons lime juice – ⅛ teaspoon fine salt Optional whipped goat cheese – 4 to 5 ounces goat cheese – 8 ounces cream cheese – 1 tablespoon honey – 1 small-to-medium garlic clove – ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
To make the salsa, put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir them together slowly until they are well mixed. If you want, you can taste it and add a little more salt.
Using the bowl of a food processor, mix all the ingredients together to make the optional whipped goat cheese.
It could take a few minutes of processing, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy.
Serve the salsa as is, or put the whipped goat cheese in the bottom of a wide, shallow bowl. Include all of the salsa around the bowl's edges. Serving quickly.
After 5 days, the leftovers will still taste good, but the whipped goat cheese will need to warm up to room temperature before it can be spread easily.