Kumquat Salsa

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This fresh Kumquat Salsa, with its bright acidity, features fresh kumquats, tiny tomatoes, jalapeño and Fresno chiles, scallions, cilantro, and fresh-squeezed citrus juice. It's sure to liven up your favorite tacos and simple grilled meats and vegetables, but don't overlook pairing it with chips as an appetizer! Provecho!

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• 👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks - About Kumquats
• 📋 Ingredients You'll Need
• 🔪 Instructions
• ❓ FAQ
• 💭 Tips
• 📖 Recipe

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks - About Kumquats

Growing up in southern California, our family had a lush, kumquat tree that was loaded with ripe fruit in late winter and early spring. I adored them. After we moved away, I rarely saw them again until we moved to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas.

Kumquats are tiny, bright orange citrus fruits, about the size of large grapes. Their thin, tender skin is edible (and the sweetest part of the fruit), while the interior bursts with tartness. You'll want to look for ripe, bright orange fruit.

The Rio Grande Valley produces a LOT of citrus, and every year around this time, we start to see kumquats in the markets. I never really know what to do with them (other than eat them out of hand like grapes!), so I decided to start with this simple pico de gallo type salsa.

I ended up pairing this kumquat salsa with my air fryer turkey tenderloin on photo day, and it was muy rico! When I'm able to get more kumquats, I want to use them in a savory main dish, and I would really like to feature them in a cocktail. If you have any other ideas, please let me know in the comments section below!

📋 Ingredients You'll Need

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• kumquats - There is no substitute for these unique citrus fruits. However, I do have an entire salsa category where you'll find a plethora of salsas!
• tomatoes - Use your favorites. On photo day, I had some lovely "marzano" tomatoes. I'm careful how I describe them because "marzano" is proprietary to Italy (and a specific region!). These were beautiful, ripe, grape tomatoes!
• fresh chile peppers - I love Fresno peppers when I can get them, but on photo day, I had a red and a green jalapeño. We like a good amount of heat, but this was a pretty mild kumquat salsa.
• scallions - You can also use shallots, finely minced red onion, or sweet onion.
• cilantro
• fresh-squeezed citrus juice - I used the juice from 1 orange, 1 lime, and 1 Meyer lemon. I tend to use whatever I have on hand. If you need to balance the acidity, add a little honey or agave nectar.

🔪 Instructions

• I almost always serve my salsas with air fryer or baked tortilla chips. I spray them lightly with cooking spray, sprinkle with sea salt, and cook them at 400 degrees until they start to brown. On photo day, I served this kumquat salsa with a delicious air fryer turkey tenderloin, and the recipe will be on the blog soon!

❓ FAQ

💭 Tips

To make quick work of the salsa, make sure your knife is really sharp! I like a good chef's knife for this task, and usually get my sous chef (aka Mark Andersen) to sharpen it before I start). An actual sharpening stone is the way to go. After years of unsatisfactory results, we listened to our son that is a professional chef!

Fresh salsas are so quick and easy to make, there is little justification IMHO for buying jars of salsa that are filled with preservatives. If you love fresh salsas, be sure to check out my Salsa category!

📖 Recipe