Pico de Gallo

Mexican food is one of my favourite cuisines. I regularly cook meals that have lime, coriander, oregano and lots of chilli in them. There is usually one ‘star’ dish with a lot of little side dishes. It is the little sides that make the meal in my opinion.  Usually I make the cooked tomato salsa adapted from Gizzi Erskine that you can find on my Huevos Rancheros recipe. However at this time of year when tomatoes have a better flavour, I make this Pico de Gallo.

As far as I know the word ‘salsa’ usually means a cooked sauce. However Pico de Gallo is regularly seen described as a fresh salsa. It is a great condiment with a real punch of flavours. I serve it just with some tortilla chips as a snack, on cheesy nachos or as a side dish to Chilli or these Mexican Chicken Wraps. Don’t stress too much about measurements, this is really a taste as you go type of dish and adjust the flavours to your own tastes.

 

Useful tips & links:

• Use the best fresh tomatoes you can get for maximum flavour. Plum tomatoes are regularly suggested for this but they are not easily available everywhere. I normally use Rosa tomatoes for this.
• I take out the seeds as I don’t want too much moisture. Other recipes say to leave it in for extra flavour, it’s up to you what you would like to do.
• This should really have a punch of chill and lime, some reading this would say I’ve been a right wuss with the chilli! If you are anxious that yours will be too hot, add the chilli gradually until you are happy with the flavour.
• My Chunky Guacamole is a great match with the pico de gallo.
• For more inspiration have a look at Lily Ramirez-Foran’s site A Mexican Cook.

 

 

 

 

Pico de Gallo

Makes approx 2 cups or 500ml

Ingredients:

• 4 Tomatoes
• ½ a small red onion, finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic
• ½ teaspoon of table salt
• 1 Jalapeno or red chilli
• The juice of ½ a lime, approx.1 tablespoon
• A small bunch of coriander leaves

Method:

• Crush or finely slice the clove of garlic and add this and the finely diced onion to a bowl. Pour over the lime juice and mix well together. The juice will ‘cure’ the onion and garlic to take the raw edge off them.
• Halve the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, discard the seeds. Very finely dice the tomato flesh and add them to the onions and garlic.
• Finely dice the chilli and chop up the coriander leaves. Add them along with the salt to the tomatoes and mix everything well together. Allow the Pico de Gallo to stand for at least 15 minutes at room temperature to let all the flavours infuse. Then taste and adjust the seasoning or chilli as needed.
• If there is too much liquid, drain it a little just before serving. It will keep covered in the fridge for a couple of days.