My friends frequently make creative suggestions on new flavor combinations for salsa or pico de Gallo. I am always willing to experiment with their suggestions. In the late spring/early summer, my friend, Julie, gave me plums from her neighbors plum tree and asked if I had thought about making a pico de Gallo with plums. I had just returned from Charlottesville where I picked peaches from Chile’s Peach Orchard and also picked up local cherries they were selling in their market from a local cherry farmer.

I decided to use the same recipe I use for my other fruit pico de Gallo. Making this pico de Gallo is very labor intensive to pit and chop the cherries, plums, & peaches along with cutting and removing all the arils from the pomegranates. In the end, the combination of all those incredible fruits along with the tomatoes, diced jalapenos and various seasonings I use creates an incredible plum, cherry, peach, pomegranate, jalapeno pico de Gallo. I describe it as an explosion of taste sensations with every bite!

Although I only make this particular fruit pico de Gallo in the late spring/early summer when I can get the plums, cherries and peaches locally, it quickly became a fan favorite of my friends last year. I loved seeing all the creative ways my friends incorporated it into their appetizers and meals.

For quick and easy appetizers, serve the pico de Gallo over crisp cinammon pita chips or over a firm cracker . I would avoid salty chips as it would overpower the true flavors of the pico de Gallo.

A savory appetizer is to drizzle crostini slices with olive oil and rub with fresh sliced garlic. Put under broiler for 15 seconds. Remove from oven and top with the fruit pico de Gallo. Another option is to top the crositini with your favorite fruit spread then top with the fruit pico de Gallo. I also will top the crostini with either an herb cream cheese spread or herb boursin cheese then top with the fruit pico de Gallo. For a warm savory appetizer, melt a wheel of brie in the oven then top with the fruit pico de Gallo and serve over crostinis, firm crackers or cinnamon pita chips.

Friends of mine made a delicious meal utilizing the plum, cherry, peach, pomegranate, jalapeno pico de Gallo. They served the fruit pico de Gallo over their grilled steak slices and said it tasted amazing.

I encourage my friends to experiment with their fresh local fruits while they are in season . Plum-cherry-peach-pomegranate-jalapeno pico de Gallo is one of the many ways to: Get Creative In The Kitchen With Salsa ! I hope you enjoyed another salsa & pico de Gallo idea from Lisa’s Salsa Blog and Lisa’s Point of View.