Pico De Gallo
What’s the big deal about pico?
What is pico de gallo? What’s so great about it? Why are all these young people always going on and on and on about pico de gallo?
Honestly, a better question is what isn’t great about pico de gallo? Sometimes called salsa fresca (literally translates to fresh sauce, or Fresh Sauce if you want it to be your street name), this simple dish and healthy dish is great to eat with chips or to add some dimension to a dish.
Pico de gallo is made from only a few ingredients: tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice (and a bit of salt and pepper). It is not a dish that needs to be tarted up as its elegance comes from its simplicity. It doesn’t take being an amazing chef to make a good pico, but you should use quality ingredients. As there are only five main ingredients each one does a lot of heavy lifting. Make sure your tomatoes are ripe, your cilantro is fresh and your limes are juicy!
How do you make pico?
There is no cooking or heat involved in making pico de gallo. Just wash, cut and mix. When I was a culinary teacher I used pico do gallo (and its Italian counterpart-bruschetta) to have my students practice their knife skills.
Ideally, you would want all the ingredients to be a somewhat consistent size. I try to keep the tomatoes a little larger than the onion, and the jalapeño a bit smaller than both. Keeping cuts somewhat small and consistent makes sure the flavor is even every bit you take. But that being said, there isn’t a right or wrong-its up to your own preference. If you like big chunky pieces of tomato then chase your bliss. Cut that tomato into big ol’ chunky bites!
With that, I’m going to explain how I do this. For the tomato I generally use Roma tomatoes. First, wash your tomatoes-always wash your produce-and then go for a medium dice. A trick to slicing tomatoes is to always use a VERY sharp knife. There are stories going around saying that you can use a serrated blade to slice tomatoes. Although this can work in a pinch, it does damage the tomato leading to a mushier less aesthetically pleasing product.
Chop your onions to a small dice. For the jalapeño, I recommend seeding it first as that will bring the heat down a little bit. If you want a spicier pico, chop it up, seeds and all. For the cilantro, if your familiar with a chiffonade, that’s the cut I use. Otherwise, a rough chop does great.
Once all your ingredients are chopped, mix them together in the bowl and just like that you’ve got a delicious, healthy summertime patio snack!
How can I use Pico de Gallo?
With pico, don’t put Baby in a corner! This dish is great on its own as something to dip chips in, but it can also do wonders as a sauce or topping to many dishes. It is a low calorie slap of flavor and color.
Unsurprisingly, pico goes great on tacos and most Mexican foods. You can add a zip to your breakfast eggs with some pico de gallo and a few avocado slices. Finish a grilled steak or grilled chicken with a dollop of pico. It can even be tossed into a salad instead of a salad dressing for a lower fat option. Really, the possibilities are endless (but I wouldn’t put it on chocolate cake).
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 2 roma tomatoes This is the staple of the recipe, make sure your tomatoes are ripe and flavorful
- 5 tbsp red or white onion about 1/4 of a small onion
- 1/2 jalapeño you may use serano peppers as well
- 1-2 limes
- dash salt and pepper
Instructions
- Dice the tomato, onion and jalapeño. I prefer a small and consistent dice, but if you like a chunkier pico, cut them larger. Add them to a small bowl.
- Chop the cilantro, and add to the bowl.
- Juice the lime and add the juice to the other ingredients. Add a small dash of salt and pepper and mix together.
- Taste and add more salt, pepper or lime juice based upon your liking.
- Allow to sit for at least an hour. Taste again and adjust anything. Can hold for several days
- NOTE: You can change the amount of anything in this recipe and it will still be pico. If you want it less oniony or more cilantro, just add more or less based on your preferences.
