It probably won’t surprise you to discover that I never tire of reading cookbooks and food magazines. I’m always looking for something new and different. I was thumbing through a copy of Food & Wine recently, and came across a really interesting fresh pomegranate salsa that involved charring a red onion and serrano pepper, while simultaneously reducing sherry vinegar in a small saucepan. 

In theory it sounded amazing, but in truth it sounded like a lot, even for me. But I love pomegranates, and I love pistachios, and I loved the creative mixture of ingredients. So I decided to try it a different way. It looks like it’s time to up my salsa game.

For the record, this recipe is nothing like the one that I read about in Food & Wine. But I would be remiss if I did not give credit for the inspiration and the mix of ingredients. 

6 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 medium red onion, diced small-medium
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 jalapeño pepper, diced very small (ribs and seeds removed)
Leaves stripped from 2 thyme sprigs (each approx. 4 inches)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups pomegranate seeds
¼ cup chopped roasted pistachios
4 Tbsp. flat-leaf parsley (roughly chopped)

Mix together the onion, jalapeño, thyme leaves, pistachios, parsley, pomegranate seeds, salt, black pepper. Add the vinegar and olive oil, and mix gently. Allow to rest 30 minutes or more to reduce the rawness of the onion.

I was really delighted with how it came out. We ate it on Mary’s Gone Crackers. Almond crackers would be great, too. I left some with a friend, and she and her daughter took it up a couple notches by mashing it with some ripe avocado, which sounded really good! I think it would also be great on salmon or another flavorful fish.

This salsa may be stored in refrigerator up to 3 days. Serves 4-6 generously.