Classic Pico de Gallo
A traditional Mexican salsa, classic Pico de Gallo is made with only a handful of fresh ingredients. This easy recipe adds fresh flavor to any dish.
Ingredients
- 3 medium Roma tomatoes, about 1 ¼ - 1 ½ pounds
- ½ large white onion, diced
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (or 2 serrano peppers for more heat)
- ¼ bunch cilantro, finely chopped (use more or less to your preference)
- 1 medium lime, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, optional
Directions
- In most recipes where I use tomatoes, I use the whole vegetable. For pico and a few other recipes where I use fresh tomatoes, I like to remove the seeds and the goopy inside. The seeds can impart some bitterness into the dish, and the seed gel can give pico an undesirable texture.
- Stand the Roma tomato upright and slice downwards, cutting it in half and again into quarters. Cut off the tip where the vine was attached and then press down on both corners, exposing the seeds and seed gel. Now just run your knife flat across the tomato quarter to easily remove both the seeds and gel but not the flesh.
- From here just cut strips through the tomato, turn them and cut again to dice. Place the diced tomatoes into the mixing bowl. Repeat with the other two tomatoes.
- Now just dice ½ the large white onion, mince 1 jalapeno, and finely chop ¼ of a bundle of fresh cilantro and add them to the mixing bowl as well.
- Give everything a few good stirs to mix the ingredients. Now add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper if using and squeeze the lime juice over it all (about 2 tablespoons). Mix again until the salt and lime juice are fully combined with the rest of the ingredients.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator to marinate for at least 15-20 minutes and up to overnight, then serve.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) As always, when cutting hot peppers, I recommend wearing a glove and immediately washing your hands after cutting them.
2) If you’re not a fan of cilantro, or have the “soap gene”, feel free to scale back or omit the cilantro. Scale the amount back to as little as 1-2 tablespoons if you’re not a big fan, and if you just cannot eat it at all, try a combination of chopped fresh parsley and basil as a substitute (I wouldn’t recommend just parsley alone however).
3) White onion is traditional, but feel free to use any onion you usually prefer. Several restaurants I worked at used red onion in theirs and I’ve used sweet onion before too, with extra jalapenos.
4) Non-reactive mixing bowls are best for fresh fruit and vegetables. While I like glass bowls, anything besides metal works fine as well.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 TablespoonCalories: 2kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.02gSaturated Fat: 0.003gSodium: 73mgPotassium: 20mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.3gCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.03mg
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