Here is a cooling beetroot salsa with Bramley apples perfect for dipping tortilla chips into at parties.
Salsa is generally associated with tomatoes but beetroot salsa with Bramley apples makes a less predictable alternative. If you were making salsa but realised you didn’t have enough tomatoes, pickled beetroot in jars are a convenient alternative. You can keep pickled beetroot in the store cupboard or fridge long term and it brings colour to salads and salsas.
This beetroot salsa recipe also uses Bramley apples. I recently attended a lunch event hosted by Bramley and was intrigued to learn that these apples were only grown in the UK. Poor performance of the crop following bad weather a couple of years ago had impacted on their sales.
For a fraught few months, Bramley had struggled to supply enough fruit to supermarkets out of season. This prompted consumers to start relying on alternatives. I was genuinely shocked one difficult growing season could make such a difference to consumer behaviour. Keeping this famous variety of apple on our shelves was in jeopardy.
Thankfully after better growing seasons, sales are recovering. The people behind Bramley apples have been working hard to encourage home cooks to rediscover this stalwart British fruit. In addition, with a rapidly changing home population, it can no longer be taken for granted that everyone has grown up with traditional apple pie and apple crumble. These are traditional British desserts in which Bramley has long being the first choice to give excellent flavour and texture after cooking. Like wise, introducing Bramley apples to newer communities in the UK gives them opportunities to incorporate them into international dishes and reinvent how all of us use Bramley apples in cooking.
Having grown up with Bramley apples as the ultimate cooking apple it was interesting to try some alternative uses for serving Bramley apples in savoury as well as sweet dishes – you may remember my toad in the hole with Bramleys and Bratwurst published during Bramley Apple week back in February this year.
Serving Beetroot Salsa with Bramley apples
This beetroot salsa with Bramley apples is suitably tart and makes a great foil for salty or spicy tortilla chips. If you are serving drinks in the garden for social events this summer I urge you to try it out as a refreshing alternative to tomato dips. You can make this beetroot salsa 24 hours in advance and if sealed in an airtight container in the fridge it should keep for a couple of days. You could also use the beetroot salsa as part of a salad pot in packed lunches or picnics. It could also be used as an alternative to coleslaw in sandwiches, served alongside cold meats or cous cous or for jacket potato topping. Freezing is not recommended. Do you know any unusual ways to use cooking apples?
For further tips how to use beetroot salsa, compare my collection of 15 ideas for spicy slaw recipes and serving suggestions.
Beetroot salsa tortilla dip with Bramley apple
Ingredients
- 1 large cooking apple peeled, cored and finely chopped
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1/2 340 g jar sliced beetroot in vinegar drained and cut into small cubes
- 4 red tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ red onion roughly chopped
- 1 cloves fresh garlic finely minced
- 2 tbsp caster sugar (superfine baking sugar)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Toss the apple in the lemon juice to prevent it browning.
- Place the beetroot, apple, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, caster sugar and olive oil in a large mixing bowl.
- Use salad forks or wooden spoons to combine the ingredients together.
- Season with black pepper and serve with tortilla chips.
Amongst my other party snack recipes you might like these chorizo canapes:
And if you’re looking for more great party food ideas follow me on Pinterest!
Follow Sarah | Maison Cupcake’s board Food | Party buffets, canapes on Pinterest.
Beetroot samples originally provided by Baxter’s. Apples provided by Bramley. Beetroot salsa recipe reproduced with permission.
This is stunning! Bet it tastes lovely, especially with the Bramley apples – really inventive 🙂