Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo

Hola’ everyone. I wanted to add a quick recipe that is just perfect for the summer. Pico de Gallo is something most everyone likes, and with the availability of fresh vegetables at the farmer’s market, it is a great way to create a condiment that can go with most every food you put on your plate. The nice thing about this pico recipe is that I use it as a base for most all of my pico’s. Depending on what I’m going to prepare for the meal, I’ll make additions to it that support the meal. For example, and I’ll share how I do it, when I’m cooking fish from the gulf, I like to make a tropical pico. And while it is somewhat of a Mexican or Southwestern style condiment, it can easily be fused into other cuisines as well. Much of my Louisiana style foods get garnished with a nice pico, especially my blackened or sautéed fish. And for the health conscious, there are few things more healthy than a fresh batch of pico de gallo. It is just loaded with vitamin C. I tend to make a large batch of it and keep it handy in the fridge to add to most any meal I’m preparing, breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. It also works as an appetizer, or an accoutrement to the appetizer, such as seared sesame tuna on a crustini topped with pico. This is a very versatile creation.

Base Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes – fine dice
1 medium onion – fine dice
3 good size cloves garlic – minced
3 jalapeños – very fine dice (add more or remove based on your taste profile)
zest and juice of two limes – very important part of recipe
juice of one lemon

Method

Dice it all up, mix it all up, and enjoy!

OK. What can we do to mix this up a bit? This can be left up to your wildest dreams (careful there, jalapeños can burn). I’ll add a few additional ingredients below.

For a Southwestern/Native American touch add:

The kernels from two ears of fresh corn – boil and cool before removing kernels.
1 Roasted Red Bell - fine dice
Add 1 or 2 hatch chilis and remove the same amount of jalapeños.

I love this over the top of a seared or grilled pork chop (at least 1” thick) that has been seasoned with kosher salt, pepper, Ancho chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder. Serve with a vegetable tamale and you have yourself a very tasty combination.

For a more tropical bent, add:

2 or 3 blood oranges (supreme, or cut it to where you remove only the meat of the orange, not any peel or pith)
1 ½ cup of finely diced pineapple

This works over a sautéed flounder seasoned with kosher or sea salt, white pepper, and a little bit of Ancho chili powder. Serve over a bed of rice with a green vegetable, and again, you have some pretty good eats (not to mention very healthy).

So I think you should be getting the picture. Feel free to experiment with lots of different additions to the base. You will find what goes well together and what does not. What I suggest, if you are not sure about the mix of your ingredients, pull a little of the base aside, and add just a bit of whatever new ingredients you want to, and see if it works. If it does, then add the proper percentage to the remaining ingredients.

Have fun and let me know how some different things you do with it.

Bon Appetit!