Basic Pico de Gallo
Pico de Gallo, or the beak of the rooster, is a fresh, chunky salsa that really benefits from luscious ripe tomatoes. Below, I’ve listed out the basic ingredients, and described the way I make my pico de gallo. However, like with any recipe of this nature, it should be adjusted to the tastes of the cook and his/her family!
- To cut back on the heat, you can do the following: seed and devein the chili peppers; replace the chili pepper with a milder pepper, such as a poblano or a green bell pepper; increase the lime juice; or increase the ratio of tomato to chili pepper.
- To increase the tomato flavor, or compensate for tomatoes that aren’t exactly the most ripe, try roasting the tomatoes: preheat the oven to 275; halve the tomatoes and remove the seeds (not the cores); arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan with the cut sides up; drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; roast for 2 hours; allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature and then continue on with the recipe. This seems like a lot for just a few tomatoes, but if you go ahead and roast an entire sheet pan, you can use the roasted tomatoes in other preparations where they’ll be equally delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1 small – medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 serrano (or jalapeno) chili peppers, finely minced
- pinch of kosher salt
Directions
When chopping the ingredients, keep them all about the same size and on the small side. Put all of the ingredients into a medium bowl, and then stir to combine. Cover and chill until ready to serve. You can make this ahead, and as you let it sit, the flavors will meld nicely.
This recipe makes about 3 cups.
