I became a big fan of fresh Pico-de-gallo years ago when my friends and I visited Mexico a couple times a year. I like the bright, fresh flavors of pico-de-gallo over salsa or chile sauces. When it comes to dipping tortilla chips or topping a fresh street taco I like the crunch of the fresh ripe tomatoes, onion and jalapeno.
There are a lot of ways to make pico-de-gallo, also referred to as salsa fresca in some places. The base ingredients are tomato, onion (usually white) and either jalapeno or serrano peppers. In Mexico it’s treated as a salad allowing the addition of other vegetables like cucumber or jicama, fruits or even meats like shrimp or sausage. My favorite pico-de-gallo includes avocado and is a super simple recipe to throw together as a side dish, garnish or dip. The bright colors mimic the bright, fresh flavors and a squeeze of lime brings it all together.
- ½ Red Onion diced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 1 Roma Tomato diced
- ½ cucumber chopped
- ½ avocado chopped
- Cilantro rough chopped
- Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Mix all in a bowl (except avocado) and stir thoroughly.
- Salt and Pepper to taste then add avocado and gently stir together.
- Set aside in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Merelyn is not a huge fan of Cilantro, so if I am making this recipe for us to share I will leave that out. While I like the addition of the fresh herb, it doesn’t really need it to be a good pico-de-gallo. If you want to bump up the heat, use serrano peppers instead of (or in addition to) the jalapeno.
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