Tonight I’m making a chili and cinnamon rubbed port tenderloin for dinner… and I’m topping it off with apple salsa. Yup… that’s right. Salsa! But… not just any salsa… this salsa is borderline dessert like. It’s sweet, spicy and FULL of damn good flavor! (OMG did JC just swear? Yeah dude, this salsa is THAT good!)
This apple salsa is not only excellent with a spoon straight from the bowl, but it would be great on top of so many different foods. Pork, chicken, homemade tortilla chips – the possibilities are endless. The picture below is the apple salsa over a pork tenderloin, which is what we had for dinner tonight. It was delicious! My husband even topped his brown rice with it. This apple salsa is a great way to add some extra flavor to your meals. Give it a try!
And… the best thing about this recipe… it’s fool proof. Making salsa isn’t an “exact” kinda thing. Half of this, a pinch of that. Ya know, whatever works. If it tastes good to you… then go with it!
Enjoy!
UPDATE: After I posted this I had several people ask me about the chili & cinnamon rub for the tenderloin. It’s so super simple and easy that I thought I’d add it to the post!
Pork Tenderloin with Chili & Cinnamon Rub:
- Whisk together in a rectangle baking dish 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic thru the press, salt/pepper to taste, chili powder and cinnamon (start with 1/2 a tsp and go from there… if you want more/less of each then go for it!).
- Place the tenderloin in the mixture and roll it around until completely coated. Use your hands to rub and press the mixture onto the tenderloin. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a hot pan, sere tenderloin on each side. Place back in the baking dish and bake 18-22 minutes at 350 F degrees until done.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes covered with foil before slicing.
- Drizzle the remaining pan juices over the sliced tenderloin then top with Apple Salsa!
Apple Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 large Honeycrisp apples, diced or finely chopped
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, diced or finely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, diced or finely chopped
- 40g cilantro, diced or finely chopped (about 1/2 cup after cut)
- the juice of two limes, freshly squeezed
- zest of 1 lime
- 1-2 Tbsp honey
- light dusting of chili powder (more if you like spicy!)
- salt/pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the apples, bell pepper, onion and lime zest in a large bowl.
- Pour freshly squeezed lime juice & squeeze the honey over the mixture and mix until coated.
- Add alt and pepper to taste.
- Add a light dusting of chili powder to taste. Fold to incorporate into salsa.
- Fold in the chopped cilantro.
- Cover and chill for 30-60 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
I used my Pampered Chef food chopper to dice/chop everything. I like the uneven look it creates.
Recipe adapted from: Multiply Delicious