Pico De Gallo
When I was growing up my Mom had a maid named Amada. She made this salad and I didn’t really like it. I was an adult before I developed an appreciation for cilantro. But she showed me how to make it and told me about it's importance.
This is a traditional Mexican salad, commemorating Mexican independence. The red, green and white of the salad are the colors of Mexico’s flag.
I have added Tomatillos to this recipe since the last edition. These are green tomato-like fruit with a brown papery husk. They have become more available lately and are a great addition to this dish. Remove the husk and wash the waxy surface before chopping.
Yield: 2 cups
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup tomatillos, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-3 fresh jalapenos, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp garlic powder
salt
Instructions:
Chop vegetables and toss gently. Add lime, garlic and salt to taste.
For a milder salsa, substitute bell pepper for some of her jalapeno.
Serve this on lettuce as a salad, on the side of a plate as a garnish, as salsa on meat or vegetables, or as a dip with chips.
Frequently I will use my mini-chopper or my food processor for this dish. Depending on what I intend to use it for, I might chop all the ingredients, one at a time, in the processor. Tomatillos, onions, Cilantro and Jalapenos chop very well. Tomatoes tend to crush and if I want the final product to be more chunky and less saucy, I cut the tomatoes by hand. I highly recommend some kind of chopper for the peppers, since the pepper juice is so hard to get off your hands.
In the winter, when good tomatoes are hard to find, I will substitute canned tomatoes. I have found that canned tomatoes taste better than most fresh ones in the grocery store. If you have access to vine ripened ones, they are always best, but otherwise, canned is good. Remember to use less salt when you used canned food - it is already salted.