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Pico de Gallo is an excellent way to add color to what might otherwise be a boring and bland Mexican plate. It's a great addition to tacos or tostadas. But it can also work as an appetizer when served as a dip with tortilla chips. Unlike store bought salsa, pico de gallo is a salsa fresca, as it uses fresh tomatoes, not canned tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 plum tomatoes
- 1/4 medium white onion
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 garlic clove (optional)
- 2-4 jalapenos or serrano peppers
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lime
Steps
Part 1Part 1 of 2:Preparing the Ingredients Download Article
- 1Dice the tomatoes and place them in a large bowl. The best tomatoes for pico de gallo are plum tomatoes. They have great flavor, a meaty texture, and contain less liquid than other types of tomatoes.[1]
- Look for plum tomatoes that are bright red and firm to the touch. Do not use overly ripe tomatoes as they contain a lot of liquid and will water down the pico de gallo.
- If plum tomatoes aren't available at your grocery store, dry-farmed tomatoes are another good option.[2]
- Use a sharp knife to dice the tomatoes into small cubes.
- 2Dice the onion. Use a sharp knife to cut the onion into very fine pieces.
- Most Mexican cooks use white onions in salsas, as white onions have a sharper taste than red or yellow onions. The sharp taste balances out nicely with the tomatoes in the pico de gallo.[3]
- If you can only find red or green onions, feel free to use them instead.
- Place the diced onions in a bowl and add the juice of half the lime to them. The acid in the lime will tame some of the sharpness in the onions.
Advertisement - 3Mince the garlic. Use a sharp knife to finely chop up the garlic clove. Add the garlic to the bowl with the onions.
- You can also use a garlic press, if available.
- Not all pico de gallo recipes use garlic, so if you don't like the taste of raw garlic, feel free to leave this ingredient out.
- 4Cut up the cilantro. Remove the leaves from the stems and chop them into fine pieces.
- Cilantro is not everyone's favorite herb. But it is a key element of a good pico de gallo, so be sure to add at least a little cilantro to the dish. If cilantro is not your thing, start with half the amount of cilantro called for and substitute the rest with parsley.[4]
- 5Seed and mince the peppers. It's important to remove the seeds from the peppers as they can be very hot.
- Depending on the spiciness of the pepper, you can add as little as two peppers or as many as four peppers.
- Keep in mind Serrano peppers are spicier than Jalapeno peppers.
Part 2Part 2 of 2:Combining the Ingredients Download Article
Did you make this recipe?
Community Q&A
- QuestionHow much is a serving?Community AnswerA serving can be as much or as little as you want! However, the average serving size is about 1/2 cup.
Tips
Things You'll Need
- Sharp cutting knife
- Cutting board
- Large bowl
References
- ↑http://www.chow.com/recipes/10992-pico-de-gallo
- ↑http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pico-de-gallo-salsa-fresca-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-25757
- ↑http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pico-de-gallo-salsa-fresca-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-25757
- ↑http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pico-de-gallo-salsa-fresca-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-25757
- ↑http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pico-de-gallo-salsa-fresca-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-25757
- ↑http://www.chow.com/recipes/10992-pico-de-gallo
About This Article
If you'd like to make pico de gallo, place diced tomatoes in a bowl, and a diced onion with lime juice and minced garlic in another bowl. Next, mince the peppers and chop the cilantro before adding them to the tomatoes. To combine the ingredients, pour the contents of the bowl with the tomatoes into the other bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Finish by seasoning with salt and lime juice to taste, then refrigerate your pico de gallo for 2 hours. Serve on tacos or as a dip with chips. If you want to learn how to add more spice to your pico de gallo, keep reading the article!