Soon summer will grace us with its presence. The Haitian in me impatiently awaits its arrival. I long for those hot summer days spent basking under the sun while savoring the best of the season’s produce. I dream of mangoes, pineapples, Caribbean apricots, corn, fresh fruit salads…which seem to taste better under the sun.
The sun has, however, been teasing us for weeks now. It doesn’t always wrap me with its warming rays, and when it does grace us with its presence, the temperature simply does not meet my body’s expectations. See, I am ready for extreme heat; the type of heat that makes us change our cooking.
In the absence of extreme temperatures, I have taken matters into my own hands to make sure summer happens before summer.
As a prelude to my favorite time of the year, I have begun working on dishes that transport my taste buds to the near future they covet so much. I have been exploring recipes thanks to some fruits already being at their best. April brought us surprisingly exquisite pineapples. Juicy and sweet, they allowed me to kickstart my summer culinary adventures.
This spicy pineapple salad with tomatoes testifies to the exquisiteness of those summer fruits.
I accidentally created it while attempting to recreate a salad from this blog through memory. I was planning on preparing the pineapple ginger salsa I paired with blackened fish a few years ago. But I failed to look up the recipe before heading to the store where I added the wrong ingredients to my basket.
Pineapple, tomatoes, purple onion, parsley, cilantro and piment bouc snuck their way into my grocery bags. With pineapple being the only ingredient found in my Habanero spiced pineapple avocado salad & blackened fish filet, I had no choice but to improvise. Fortunately, my culinary muse showed up that day. And she did not let me down with her return. She inspired a recipe that brightened my weekend and brought summer back weeks ahead of its due date.
This tomato pineapple salad is the epitome of summer.
Sweet, spicy, juicy, refreshing, bright, this simple dish bursts with flavors. It pairs well with meats, but also works great as a standalone dish. I enjoyed it with chicken wings, and on its own as a salad. I believe I will serve it through this summer and beyond. I know you will do the same. Just one bite will leave you hooked.
I just have one secret tip for you: prepare it ahead of time. This refreshing pineapple tomato salad tastes even better the next day…and the day after.
Sunny tomato pineapple salad
Ingredients
- ½ fresh pineapple
- 1 tomato
- ½ small purple onion
- Parsley
- Cilantro optional
- 1 slice of habanero pepper
- 1 juice of one lime
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Dice the pineapple, tomato and onion
- Chop the parsley, cilantro and habanero
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
- Drizzle with the lime juice and finish with a pinch of salt
- Let macerate for at least an hour in the fridge
- Enjoy cold
