Daily*Dishin: Colorful Sweet Pepper-Avocado Salsa

(Printable Recipe)

A fresh alternative to avocado with the crunch and tang of fresh bell peppers. This tomato-less salsa comes together in a quick 5 or 10 minutes and makes a perfect dip, topping for salad, or side dish - take your pick.

Three different colored bell peppers (though I skipped the green variety as a bit too pungent and raw tasting for this dish), 1 lime, 1 bunch of scallions, and a bag of mystery fruit.

Nah, that's just avocado in there. They weren't quite soft enough yesterday but one day in a paper bag will usually do the trick as they stew in their own ethylene gases and ripen themselves up.

Reduce it all to a nice evenly chopped assortment of rainbow beauty. I like about half as much of each color pepper as total amount of avocado. Just my preference.

Now juice up that lime and give it a pinch of cumin and pinch of cayenne pepper or ground chipotle chili pepper if you've got it (McCormick's makes a nice one). Fold together gently with a spatula so the avocado stays in nice cubes instead of smashing.

Lastly, blend in a spoon or two of sugar, tasting for a good balance of tangy but slightly sweet. The level of sweetness of the peppers will determine how much sugar you need.

Serve now or let it get even happier awhile in the fridge. The acidic lime juice will keep the avocado nice and green for days!

Avocados are so much more than guacamole fare! Check out all these other wonderful ideas for avocado dressing and stuffing and even egg salad. All summer long we'll be blogging together with the Food Network to celebrate SummerFest with loads of ideas for your Farmer's Market finds. Join us, right here, every week!