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!

Southwest Corn and Onion Soup

Two things that usually don't go together are soups and the season of summer. However, some people like soups any time of the year, so the trick is to create a soup that goes with the season, and yet isn't necessarily a cold soup. While cold soups are nice and refreshing, they aren't always satisfying and don't always fill you up. During the summer, we are lucky enough to either be harvesting our own food from our own gardens, or have wonderfully fresh vegetables available at local farmer's markets. You should take advantage of these freshly obtained vegetables. Not only are they much healthier because the didn't travel for thousands of miles, but they will taste phenomenally better. Teri and I like soups, though I don't take the time to make them at home very often. While at the restaurant today, I needed a quick soup du jour, and really didn't want to build another bisque, something that while filling just doesn't fall into the summer soup classification. So after a quick run through the walk-in (walk-in refrigerator), I came out with a bunch of corn, celery, and other veggies that I knew would go together. What I ended up with was a really tasty soup that fit the bill for what was a mild summer day (mild by Texas standards anyway).

Ingredients:

6 ears fresh corn – remove the husk and slice off the kernels
5 stalks of celery – cut on the bias (cut at an angle)
1 large onion – cut Frenched (cut in ½ and sliced into small, thin wedges)
½ cup sun dried tomatoes – sliced julienne
½ cup roasted red bell peppers – small dice
(either canned or fresh roasted, if fresh roasted, seed and skin)
4 cloves garlic – minced
¼ cup dry sherry (not really necessary, but I like to deglaze the pot before adding stock).
¼ cup fresh lime juice
3 or 4 Tbl Canola/Olive Oil (blended at 80/20)
2 qt Chicken Stock (preferably homemade, but good store bought stock works as well)
2 or more qt water (use filtered or bottled, or good ranch water)

Seasonings:

Kosher Salt – to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper – to taste
4 Tbl Ancho Chili Powder
2 Tbl Ground Coriander
2 or 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
3 Tbl Fresh or 1 Tbl dried Oregano

Method:

This is a really easy soup to make, though the ingredients might be a bit intimidating. Heat a large soup pot (6 qt or so) on medium heat. Add the oil, toss in the onion and celery and sweat for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the corn and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Stir things around a bit and make sure the hear releases all of the wonderful flavors. Now add the sun dried tomatoes, the roasted red bells, and the garlic. Toss all this around a bit and continue to cook. Try not to caramelize things too much, but a little won't hurt. Stir in the Ancho chili powder and the oregano (if dried), deglaze with the sherry if you want, then add the chicken stock, the lime juice, and the water. Bring to a boil and let simmer at a medium heat for about 20 or 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't reduce to much. If it does, add a bit more water. When you think the soup is at the right consistency (and this is definitely the cook's call) you can add the rest of the seasonings, and salt and pepper to taste. This soup should not be watery or brothy, nor should it be really thick either (unless that is how you want it). Just a nice soupy consistency. I served it with a garnish of micro-cilantro (baby cilantro will work as well) and some fried corn tortilla strips (sliced very thin).

Please leave a comment with any questions, or to let me know how you like the soup and recipe. I hope you enjoy.