For the Holiday Recipe Club‘s Memorial Day blog hop, the secret ingredients to choose from were watermelon, beer, and pork. I think I’m on a salsa kick because my last recipe for the HRC on Cinco de Mayo was for Fresh Mild Salsa, and the first thing I thought of when I saw that watermelon was one of the ingredients for Memorial Day was the salsa recipe my hair dresser gave me back in February. I have been craving it ever since I read the recipe, imagining how wonderful it must taste, and I was trying to wait until watermelon were truly in season here in Wichita to try it (that happens in August for us), but with the added incentive of the Holiday Recipe Club blog hop, I knew the time had come.
This stuff is the bomb, yo! The only change I made was to add in some lime juice, which I feel was essential to achieve the salsa flavor and balance the sweetness of the watermelon. The beans, which may seem strange, are somehow a perfect fit with the flavors & textures. I could eat this as a meal, it is so good! It is juicy, and seriously addictive. It is, however, best if eaten within four hours of making it as the watermelon leaks more and more water and becomes mushy after a while. To serve this at your Memorial day barbecue or another gathering, just have the watermelon prepped in a separate container than the other ingredients, then stir them all together and refrigerate an hour before serving and you’ll have a bowl of salsa perfection ready to wow your guests.
Watermelon Black Bean Salsa
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
2 cups diced seedless watermelon
3/4 cup finely diced sweet onion
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
Juice from 1/2 a lime
2 teaspoons brown sugar, packed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Tortilla chips
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients but the chips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Drain if necessary before serving. Serve with chips within 2-3 hours of making.
Yield: 3-1/2 cups.
Veronica’s Note: I advise wearing latex gloves when handling and dicing the jalapenos, as the oils can burn your skin.
Recipe source: Jennifer L.
A big thank you to Erin for creating this club! I’m having a lot of fun with it. If you’d like to join or find out more, check out the Holiday Recipe Club website. And don’t forget to check out the other Memorial Day recipes by clicking the linky frog below.
