Peggy Fallon's "Rockin' Moroccan Salsa"

So colorful, isn't it?! That's one of the lovely things about salsas - fresh ingredients and bright colors.

This one starts out like a lot of salsas - tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilanrto.

What makes it "Rockin' Moroccan" is the addition of cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and paprika. They bring a slightly darker, more exotic flavor to the mix. My husband LOVED this one. Kids - not at all. But that's okay. All the more for the grownups.

Actually, it's all gone now - the last bit of it went to work in my husband's lunch bag, along with some chicken I made last night and the fresh pita pockets I also made.

(The pita pockets were made specifically to accompany this salsa. In Fallon's notes for this recipe, she suggests you serve it "with Baked Pita Chips, warm fresh pita bread, or Poppadums." I didn't have any of the above. I was going to just go with something else, maybe crostini or sesame crackers...but then I told myself "HEY - you've got the ingredients - MAKE SOME PITA BREAD!" So, fearing my own wrath, I did just that. I'll be posting that recipe between now and the end of the giveaway as well.)

Oh - yes, the giveaway - this salsa is one of the recipes from Peggy Fallon's book Great Party Dips, which I'll be giving away to some lucky entrant after the drawing next week. You can enter the contest and get all the details here.

(Please note - the giveaway is over now.)

But for now, here's a taste (pun intended) of one of the tempting offerings from Ms. Fallon's book...

First of all, here's a list of ingredients you'll need:

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp grated lemon zest

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

dash of salt

And here's all you do:

1. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, cayenne and salt. Toss gently to mix.

2. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover, and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop, or refrigeratefor up to 8 hours. Serve at cool room temperature.

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How much easier could that be? Well, yeah, you can always open a jar of something and pour that in a bowl, but really, fresh is SO much better.