Do you like the pico de gallo like me? It’s a classic Mexican tomato sauce that adds a fresh, healthy, low-calorie flavour to almost any Mexican meal.
When I was little, I used to stack pico de gallo on my tortilla chips at our nearby Mexican restaurant and call it dinner (please refill). But I didn’t fully appreciate the wonders of pico de gallo until my family moved to Mexico one summer when I was in college.
We stayed at an all-you-can-eat resort, which meant “all-you-can-eat pico de gallo”. Their pico de gallo was super fresh and totally irresistible, and I would pile it on top of every meal. Eggs! Tortillas! Beans! Spaghetti, even! What the hell?
It’s funny that I’ve shared so many variations of pico de gallo over the years, but never my classic pico de gallo recipe. Well, today’s the big day. Let’s make pico de gallo while the tomatoes are still good.
Pico de gallo is so easy to make. You will only need five ingredients (six if you count the salt): ripe red tomatoes, white onion, jalapeño, coriander, lime and salt. That’s all you need!
What is the difference between pico de gallo and salsa?
Pico de gallo shares the same basic ingredients as traditional red salsa, but the preparation methods are different.
Pico de gallo always uses raw, diced ingredients. It is less wet and adds a wonderful texture and substance to tacos and other tacos. Salsa can be prepared with roasted or stewed tomatoes, and its texture is usually closer to that of a puree.
Both are delicious, both go very well with guacamole, and I often layer pico de gallo on top of the salsa to double the flavour (if only you could see my usual order of burrito bowls from Chipotle).
Ingredients
6 tomatoes
3 jalapenos (warning: hot)
1 medium white onion
1/2 a medium red onion
1 cup cilantro (I’m a fiend- so a little less if you aren’t)
5 cloves garlic
3 limes juice (hell, I even threw in some of the pulp)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt (More can always be added but not taken away!)
1 tsp chili powder
Directions
1 cup (2-3 ears) of grilled/pan fried corn. If pan frying it, try putting in 3 tbsps of pineapple juice and 2 tbsp EVOO. Since you are using pans now, I would probably add the garlic, salt, 1/2 the cilantro, cumin and chili powder now.
Sweeten it up with some diced fruit of your choice- pineapple, mango, peach etc.
You can also add lemon or black pepper if you like .
