ROASTED POBLANO & PAPAYA PICO

As we saw last week, there is this lovely plate of pan seared Mahi-Mahi which I prepared, but what really pulls the entire dish together is this Roasted Poblano and Papaya Pico (de gallo)! It is full of wonderful flavors and textures and the color really adds to the plate as you can see.

Ingredients for the Pico:
1 medium tomato seeded and diced
1/2 medium white onion diced
1/3c (each) diced red and orange bell pepper
1/2 papaya seeded and diced
1 medium sized poblano pepper, roasted, diced (poblanos have a wonderful mild flavor)
1 jalapeno, diced very small (add a little at a time until the salsa is as spicy as you like)
1 lime
cilantro, chopped, to taste (I like a lot of cilantro)
sea salt to taste
olive oil

**TIP** Jalapenos get hotter towards the middle of the pepper, take this into account as you add it in!

I'm not sure I've ever seen a papaya, and what do I do with it when I find one?

This is a papaya

It's flesh is similar in color to a mango but it is softer and less tart. Simply cut the papaya long ways, scoop out the seeds in the middle with a spoon and then carefully take the skin off with a sharp knife. Now dice the fruit!

How to roast a poblano pepper:
 
Set your oven to broil and bring it up to temperature. Take your poblano pepper, coat it with about a tablespoon of olive oil and place it on a pan. When your oven is ready, put the pan in the oven and roast the pepper for about six minutes, turn it over, and roast it for another 4-6 minutes or until the outside of the pepper has turned dark and the skin has started to peel away from the pepper.

It will look like this!

You are now done with the oven (unless you are making the dish above and then I broiled a slice of FRESH pineapple about 1/4-1/3 inch thick until the edges started to turn brown). Let your pepper cool for a few minutes and then run your fingers over the skin and it should peel right off! 

Now you are left with a roasted poblano pepper. I used about 2/3 of mine for this recipe as it was a little on the large side.

Putting it all together:
Put all of your ingredients in a bowl, drizzle lightly with olive oil, squeeze in the juice from 1/2 of the lime and add a pinch of sea salt. Stir together GENTLY until combined. 

Yields: about 2 cups

This pico is great on fish or chicken and it great to serve with anything you would normally use salsa for. A sure hit at any party! (I just eat it with a spoon)