CHRIS PREOVOLOS: THE FOOD BLOG

Alright, alright. This dessert “salsa” — served atop dulce de leche ice cream — proves our summer of salsa experiment, now in week 7, has veered steadily off the traditional salsa path. But what can we say, Rafael Palomino and Arlen Gargagliano, the authors of our trusty guide, Nueva Salsa, certainly know how to stretch the definition of salsa.

That aside, here’s what you need:

¾ cup of fresh blueberries
½ papaya, peeled seeded, and diced (about 2 cups)
½ cup almonds, toasted
2 ounces Frangelico
juice of one lime
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
Dulce de leche ice cream

From the book:

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries and papaya. Stir in the almonds, Frangelico, and lime juice. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then stir in the mint and serve. Or, cover and refrigerate for up to one day.

The first adventure to this dish was buying Frangelico, a hazelnut flavored liqueur. I had never tried it before, but it was easy enough to find at the local wine shop. A warning to the tight-walleted: my bottle, at about 750 ml, cost $25, and when I asked if the drink is sold in a smaller size, they said no. I later tried it on it’s own — stuff is pretty strong (!), but goes down smooth.

My friend and I had no hang ups preparing this easy dish, which we used as a denouement to a meal of eggplant parmigiana and broccoli soup (guess it was a vegetarian kind of day).

But I HAVE been having hang ups with the oven in my new apartment, so rather than sticking the almonds in there, we toasted them stove top. Again, worked out fine.

We had a bit of fun arguing over how a papaya should properly be peeled, let us know if you have any tips.

The dessert was yummy, and probably would go well with vanilla ice cream as well. I think this recipe would be a good starting point for experimentation with different combinations of fruits. We paired it with moscato D’Asti, a sweet, sparkling Italian dessert wine.