– 2 cups pomegranate arils (about 2 pomegranate’s worth) – ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion – ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro – 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (use a smaller jalapeño for less heat, or leave in some seeds for more heat) – ½ teaspoon lime zest – 2 tablespoons lime juice – ⅛ teaspoon fine salt Optional whipped goat cheese – 4 to 5 ounces goat cheese – 8 ounces cream cheese – 1 tablespoon honey – 1 small-to-medium garlic clove – ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
To make the salsa, put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir them together slowly until they are well mixed. If you want, you can taste it and add a little more salt.
Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse them together to make the whipped goat cheese.
If you need to, scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go along to make sure the mixture stays smooth and creamy. This could take a few minutes.
You can serve the salsa as is, or you can spread the whipped goat cheese around the bottom of a wide, shallow bowl. Spread the salsa all the way around the bowl's edge. Serve right away.
Food that is left over can be saved for up to five days, but the whipped goat cheese needs to warm up to room temperature before it can be spread.