Pico de Gallo

THEY SURE DON’T MAKE IT LIKE THIS IN OHIO

I’m a big fan of pico de gallo. It keeps for about 3-4 days (and is still edible for about a week, but the colors fade), so I’ll make it a few times a month to snack on, to cover tacos or burritos, to top a hamburger, all kinds of groovy things.

Pico is a fresh salsa, and is composed mainly of tomatoes, red onion, and jalapeños, mixed with salt, lime juice, and maybe a little cider vinegar. It’s not really spicy — if you’re looking for spice, you could move up to a serrano or maybe a habanero — it’s more of a salty, acid pop from the tomatoes and lime, used to brighten up food.

While I love to make Mexican (or at least Texican) food, I’m no Rick Bayless, and I don’t have any roots in the culture except for spending my undergrad years in central Arizona.  It is still one of my favorite cultures to cook and eat from, and I hope I can do it justice.

Tomatoes are best in summer, and similarly so is this salsa, but hothouse tomatoes are a barely-acceptable substitute if you’re like me and like to eat this all year round.

RECIPE

Seriously? All the ingredients are up there. Salsa comes from a Latin root meaning “salted”, so you will probably be adding more salt than you might think, but it really brings the flavor out. Taste, taste, taste!

Ok, fine, have some numbers:

• 4 or 5 tomatoes: globe, beefsteak, or heirloom — make sure it actually tastes like something
• 2 medium red onions (red is important)
• 2 jalapeños, stemmed and seeded (see notes)
• The juice of 5 or 6 limes
• A splash of apple cider vinegar (1/8-1/4 cup or so)
• Salt
• Cilantro (optional)

Chop the tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños finely, 1/4″ dice or smaller, and transfer to a nonreactive bowl (glass or plastic). Try to get as much of the tomato juice in there as you can, too. Stir to combine and see how pretty it looks. Juice the limes over the bowl (it’s OK to get pulp in the pico), and add the vinegar. Salt to taste — as mentioned above, it’s probably going to want more salt than you might think, and stir after every salting to distribute the flavors. Attempt to let it sit for an hour or so before eating.

After about 4 or 5 days, the color will leach out of the red onions and everything except the peppers will be a pale pinkish color. It’s still safe to eat, it’s just boring to look at.

–c

NOTES

When I cut my hot peppers, I will slice off the stem end, cut them in half lengthwise, and use a teaspoon to dig out the seeds and ribs. The ribs have the highest concentration of capsaicin, so you can decide whether or not you want to leave them in depending on your heat tolerance.

And make sure to wash your hands with soap and water before touching any of your own or others’ sensitive bits! Even wiping your nose can be dangerous.