Elderflower Gingered Peach and Jalapeño Salsa

Helloodles lovelies!
I know the recipe title is a mouthful to say but it's a delight to eat.
You need to add this to your roster of summer recipes. I was at Ikea the other day, discovering bedding and cool things for my Poppa Bear and I to have in our home together. Man,is it ever easy to go crazy in there, I never knew how much I missed decorating my home until Ikea brought it all back.
By the cashes, I remembered that they sell elderflower syrup and I rushed to grab one in their food section, before we left. I was so happy when I found a bottle and it was just under $5,which is much better than the $12-$18 bottles I had seen. It was also not too big which is perfect for me because I will not be needing that much. There were recipes on Pinterest for elderflower and I had almost forgotten about this lovely ingredient, I usually imbibe it in my elderflower presse drink during the holidays. It's been my go-to alcohol replacement for years, for me and the kids table. I get eczema badly when I drink alcohol so it's off my list.
Well, now I am using elderflower syrup on a new recipe journey, trying new things keeps your soul young after all. If you have never heard or had this, I truly feel you are missing out.
I adore it, it's a flower that has a delicate, soft and inviting flavour. It's a bit acidic but in a mild limey tang kind of way. It does not overpower, it's actually mellow so don't pair it with anything too strong. It works well with lime & some ginger. I hope you enjoy the recipe and please don't be intimidated, I put many pictures that breakdown how to cut and use everything. It's actually not a difficult one just requires patience, extra cutting time, and of course, love. Never cook or bake without love.

ELDERFLOWER GINGERED PEACH AND JALAPEÑO SALSA

Ingredients:

4 ripe peaches (not over ripe)
1/2 jalapeño
1 English cucumber
1 stalk whites of scallion
Small piece of red pepper (1/4 cup chopped)
1 tsp ginger (fresh)
1/4 cup elderflower syrup
3 tbsp light, fruity extra virgin olive oil
1 lime zest & 1/2 of it's juice
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
Pinch of pink sea salt
Pinch of fresh long black pepper ground
2 scrapes fresh nutmeg

Method:

-Prepare your peaches by scoring an X in the base, then dipping in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Plunge the drained peaches, quickly into an ice bath. See below for picture details. Slice and chop the peaches as shown. Place in a non-reactive bowl.

-Peel your knob of fresh ginger and grate it finely using a microplane zester, keep aside or do the grating at the last minute after zesting the lime.

-Grab your cucumber. Peel, remove seeds, cut in four, then dice the cucumber. Pics show all, down below. Add to bowl with peaches.

-Take small piece of red pepper, slice and chop into small pieces then add to bowl.

-Take scallion (green spring onion) and slice thinly on a diagonal to get a nice look to your slices. put in bowl with peaches.

-WEAR GLOVES!!!!!!! Do not touch your eyes or any delicate mucous membranes when handling hot peppers. Prepare the jalapeno, slice in half, remove guts and slice, then chop very small. See pics down below.

-Roll your lime, zest the green skin, about 3/4 of it over peaches, add ginger and elderflower, vanilla, and then olive oil.

-Add nutmeg.

-Add salt and pepper, to taste.

-Gently, with a spatula, mix all ingredients. Chill in fridge (covered) for 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings
Lasts 1-2 days in fridge, not suitable for freezing.




Peaches! Millions of peaches, peaches for me, millions of peaches, peaches for free! Anybody else remember that song?  Focus Kiki, focus.
So, here you see the simple method of scoring an X on the bum of the peach-not too deeply, then dunking peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds. You quickly move them to an ice bath, (cold water with ice cubes, this stops the cooking process and makes peach skin peeling possible). This method can be used for tomatoes, nectarines, etc.



See how easily the skin comes off?

Slice and chop just like in the pictures. Be gentle, these are delicate fruits.



Now peel the ginger, you keep it aside until you zest the lime skin in, then you add the ginger you grated with the same zester, (keep the ginger to a fine grate, no chunks).


Mr. English cucumber, like all cumbers, has a flaw. The seeds are very hard to digest. It's all that cellulose that keeps it coming back to talk to you all day and night after you have eaten it. My mother, clever lady that she is, showed me this neat trick. You cut it in half, gently scrape out the seeds with a small spoon-chuck those out, and voila! You are back to eating cucumbers again without the torture. I slice those halves in four and chop small for this recipe. See pic below.

After cucumbers comes the very small piece of red pepper. Honestly, this is for a pop of colour, just keep the dice small.



You only want the white tips of the scallion for this, keep the green's for another recipe like this delicious one I thoughtfully put a link to for you (I know, I am such a giver):
http://thekinkycoconut.blogspot.ca/2013/02/my-mom-modified-shrimp-dip-awesome-with.html

My impersonation of the Blue Man Group follows in this next pic. Heheh, actually, I have serious reactions to acidic and spicy foods-my eczema flares badly, even with regular gloves. These heavy duty blue bad boys are my solution when handling any kind of peppers.

Carefully remove the ribs and seeds, you want a mild heat that is present but almost imperceptible.

Chop finely by slicing into small, thin slivers. That is what will give you a tiny dice.

 Roll all limes (or lemons) before using. This loosens and releases the juice.
When zesting limes (or lemons) NEVER zest past the skin where you have colour. The white stuff is called pithe, it is bitter and not appetizing. The colour part of the skin, green for the lime, is where the bright burst of flavour oils are hiding. That is what we want in a recipe.

Ginger can be strong and quickly overpowers a dish, especially since we are using Elderflower, we want to be more conservative when using it. I adore fresh ginger, so I rarely recommend using the powdered and ground stuff, unless required for baking. Trust me, the fresh ginger goes all the way to flavour town!



Elderflower, this is such a fun and exciting ingredient in my pantry. I am doing a happy dance and song as I open this for the first time. Christening it with this peach flavour combo is going to be amaze bombs! It's very clear, smells so inviting, and if you like, feel free to use it for beverages and ice pops. Ooh, new recipe idea! Yipee! Hooray for elderflowers! Thank you Abba for blessing us with so many wonderful things to create meals with.

I used this new organic EVOO, I wanted to try out a new olive oil, this one we got at Costco. Normally, I would recommend a much more expensive brand I get from this sweet little shop at Atwater Market, however, I have not been there yet this summer and I am on a tight budget. This one is mild, not sharp, and worked well with this recipe. If you use a heavier, less fruity, darker evoo, you will loose the delicate taste of elderflower and may as well just pour it down the drain. You WANT to taste the elderflower, lingering in the background, so trust me, use a very light evoo.
EVOO= extra virgin olive oil.

This was the end product, I had some haddock, asparagus, and jalapeno cheddar, scallion, potato cakes to go with. Scrumdidilyumptious and devoured!
Be brave, fearless, and filled with joy, I want you to get out there and try this recipe, do it with gusto, then tell me all about it. Comments or questions down below and do not forget to subscribe.