Fabulous Fruit Salsa! - Dr. Janet Brill | Heart-Healthy Recipes And Fitness Plans

Fabulous Fruit Salsa!

Eat from mother nature’s glorious palette of fruit colors.

Salsa is always a perfect nutrition choice for seasoning anything and everything…light, healthy and packed with disease-fighting plant chemicals called polyphenols—this is one condiment that should be a staple in your heart-healthy eating regimen.

I had to share this American Heart Association delicious recipe which taps into the last days of summer’s fruit bounty!

American Heart Association’s Grilled Shrimp with Melon & Pineapple Salsa

Fruit Salsa — Grilled shrimp is perfectly accented by light, summery pineapple-melon salsa

Grilled shrimp is perfectly accented by this light, summery pineapple-melon salsa. The flavors are bright and fresh, just right for a hot day. Use just one melon or any combination of melons—including watermelon—for the versatile salsa. For best flavor marinate the shrimp overnight.

Ingredients

1 pound raw shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined (see Cook Tips)

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, divided

2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño, divided

2 cups finely diced firm ripe melon

1 cup finely diced fresh pineapple

1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus 4 sprigs for garnish

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 large lettuce leaves, such as Boston, romaine or iceberg

4 lime wedges

Combine shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Combine melon, pineapple, red and green bell pepper, onion, vinegar, chopped mint and salt in a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, preheat grill to high.
Thread the shrimp onto skewers, piercing each twice, once through the tail end and once near the head end.
Grill the shrimp until pink and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
When cool enough to handle, slide the shrimp off the skewers.
To serve, arrange one large lettuce leaf on each dinner plate.
Spoon salsa onto the lettuce and top with shrimp.
Garnish each serving with a lime wedge and a mint sprig, if using.

Cook’s Tip

To devein shrimp, use a paring knife to make a slit along the length of the shrimp. Under running water, remove the tract with the knife tip.

To Make Ahead: Marinate the shrimp (Step 1) for up to 24 hours. Cover and refrigerate the salsa (Step 2) for up to 4 hours. | Equipment: Four 8- to 10-inch skewer

Nutritional Analysis (Per serving)