Mission Challenge: Gooseberry Salsa Recipe
We challenged people in the fast-growing town of Mission, B.C., to try local eating for 100 days starting on June 1. Nearly 100 people signed up on the spot - and we couldn’t resist signing up, too. We’re back on a fully local diet, this time with plenty of company and a camera crew taking it all in for the Food Network. Can a community change the way it eats? Let’s find out. If you’re in Mission and taking the challenge, we want to hear from you. And it’s never to late to get involved: Join in for a month, a week, even a single meal.
DAY 22 - First day of summer, eh? Still cool and wet. Tough year to be doing a 100-mile challenge; in fact, Alisa and I have to admit 2008 is tougher than 2005 so far. That said, I ate the season’s first strawberries the other day right by the roadside in Mission - I didn’t even make it ten paces before I was huddled over devouring the fruit. My only regret was waiting so long.
At the same fruit stand I picked up something entirely new to me: gooseberries. I thought I’d been eating local gooseberries quite a bit over the last couple years. Now I learn that those were cape gooseberries, which are something like tomatillos, rather than real gooseberries. It might be early season, but those gooseberries puckered me pretty good - they’re tart! Wasn’t sure what to do with them, but that’s what local eating is all about. I went home and, with a 100-mile meal to make for ourselves and three friends, I tried mixing up a basic gooseberry salsa to go with a side of glazed chum salmon. I should have made more of it, since it disappeared in a matter of minutes. Here, very roughly, is the recipe:
Mission Gooseberry Salsa
2 c chopped gooseberries
2 tbsp minced fresh tarragon
1/4 c minced parsley
1/4 c chopped green onion
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp dried hot pepper flakes
Just mix it all up in a bowl and give it a little time to blend flavours at room temperature. Locally, I think it would be good with salmon, spot prawns, halibut, any dried beans . . . maybe chicken or beef, too. There seem to be a lot of those gooseberries out in Mission. Anyone else have any recipes? Send them in. - JBM
