by Ethan Johnson
August 26, 2006

It's party time! But what to serve? Joe didn't eat, because he heard there was going to be "food". Jane doesn't eat meat. Mike can only eat organics. Jill is allergic to gluten. Jim isn't coming if Jane's gonna be there. Well, you can't be all things to all people, sadly, but you can still serve up the good stuff and please some of the people some of the time with:

Star Fruit and Black Bean Salsa

Recipe adapted from Nuevo Cubano Cooking: New Fusion Recipes From Florida by Sue Mullin.

1 star fruit, 1/2 sliced, 1/2 diced (see detailed instructions)
1 8oz can of black beans, drained
2 roma tomatoes, diced (or 1 can of really good petite diced tomatoes, drained)
3/4 cup corn kernels
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced (discard dark green parts)
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup red wine winegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
Ground cumin
Hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt
Fresh-cracked pepper

(Serves "a crowd". I made this recipe to serve 11 people as part of a larger spread.)

1. We begin by draining a can of black beans and adding it to a medium mixing bowl. (Note: In this example, I ended up using a larger bowl so I had room to work, and then transferred it to a smaller bowl so it looked nicer, at Mar's insistence.)

   

2. Dice the tomatoes (or drain a can) and add them to the bowl.

   

3. Add the corn kernels to the bowl.

   

4. Slice up the green onions (excluding the dark green parts) and add them to the bowl.

   

5. Cut the sides off of the green bell pepper, which should effectively de-seed the flesh.

   

6. Slice the peppers into "matchsticks", then cut across them to create the dice.

   

7. Add the diced green bell peppers to the bowl.

   

8. OK team, same play with the red bell pepper.

   

9. Add the diced red bell peppers to the bowl.

   

10. Now we get into the fun part. Rather than call for exact measurements (besides the red wine vinegar, which you can SWAG too), all of the pictured items are added "to taste". You get to decide what that means to you.

    

11. Add the above items to the bowl (to taste, and as desired). Add kosher salt and ground pepper in the same manner.

    

12. And now, you're ready to learn about star fruit. It's new to me too. What I have found thus far is that star fruit seems to be highly seasonal and not available everywhere. I only found two stores locally that carry it, and one of them was out of stock today (causing a near panic). Star fruit does not need to be peeled, and as the name suggests, it's star-shaped when sliced.

    

13. Cut half of the star fruit into slices and set aside.

    

14. Using your mad knife skillz, cut the remaining star fruit into "matchsticks" and cut them into dice.

    

15. Add the diced star fruit to the bowl.

    

16. Stir up everything in the bowl, and adjust seasonings to taste.

    

17. Transfer the mixed ingredients to a serving dish (as needed). Place the star fruit slices across the top of the dish as a festive garnish.

    

18. Cover dish with cling wrap and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

19. Baila!

Enjoy! Let me know how it turns out. <EM>