There just might be more to Oregon than you think.
Sure, Oregon holds some of the niftiest freshwater on the planet – the Columbia, Willamette, Deschutes, Snake, McKenzie, Sandy, Umpqua, Grand Ronde and Metolius to name but a few – and a pretty impressive coastline too.
I hear there’s better bird hunting than most ever imagine, lots of big game, pretty high country and much more sunshine that here around the Sound.
Seafood abounds, the state’s wine country and offerings are formidable and Portland is about as much a foodie city as you’ll find anywhere.
Even better, the intrepid researchers at OSU gave us the Marionberry, a fanciful, almost larger-than-life blackberry variant that has been in high season in our neighborhood for the past few weeks.
The marionberries we’ve been buying have been huge, about the size of the last two joints of my little finger, tart, juicy and bursting with berry flavor.
Earlier this week a fishing friend who’s a cordon bleu trained chef now working part time as a guide and shop manager in Montana and I were talking about a film project we’d like to do together this fall. After a long fishing chat he paused and asked what berries were in locally and I shared we’d been feasting on the waning marionberries and thriving blueberries the past week or so.
He cursed softly and lamented the challenges of getting farm-stand fresh berries into southwest Montana without chartering a plane or driving 20 hours out and back with a pickup load of coolers in the bed.
I offered to send over some of the blueberry – marionberry jam we’ve been making and he offered this Marionberry Salsa recipe as a good faith deposit on the exchange – he said it was perfect on seafood or grilled pork and suggested we first try on grilled halibut or tuna.
It’s off to the farm stand this morning for marionberries and market for tuna.
See you at the grill about seven.
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow bell pepper
1 cup fresh Marionberries
2/3 cup chopped (small) sweet onion
1 large habanero chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3/4 tsp. good salt4 thick (1 to 1 and 1/2 inch) fresh tuna steaks
4-5 tbsp. ground cumin (best from freshly toasted seeds)
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Roast the peppers. Wash and dry the bell peppers; roast under a hot broiler or better yet over a hot grill until the skin is evenly and lightly charred. Steam in a closed paper bag until cool; peel, stem and seed then chop into medium sized pieces.
Make the salsa. Combine the chopped, roasted peppers with the berries, chopped onion, minced habanero, the two juices and salt. Cover and let rest for at least 2 hours.
Tuna time. Dust the tuna steaks with the salt, pepper and cumin; grill over a medium-hot grill 6-7 minutes for medium.
Plate with a big spoonful of the Marionberry salsa on top and go to it.
Enjoy.
