Pico de Gallo

The first time I remember tasting pico de gallo was about 25 years ago at a work party. One of my co-workers made it; he called it salsa. It was like no salsa I had ever seen before, and I loved it immediately. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how he did it. For a long time, pico de gallo was a special treat reserved for trips to Mexican restaurants.

When I married Bob, he introduced me to the joys of store-bought pico. It was expensive enough to be an occasional indulgence, usually when we were entertaining guests. Then one day I started thinking about how making it at home couldn't be that difficult. I did a little research on the internet, tried a couple of batches, and came up with a recipe that is cheap, easy and wonderful. We serve it with any Mexican dish, but it's especially good with carne asada tacos.

There's quite a lot of flexibility in the recipe. I often make it with any salsa-looking ingredients that I have on hand--I've put in bits of green bell pepper, chopped green onions or other goodies. It can even be dressed up as a topping for fish or chicken breasts by adding a little mango or pineapple. There aren't really any secrets to making it; just chop everything fine, and make it a few hours ahead so that the flavors can blend awhile as it sits in your fridge.

Pico de Gallo
2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
½ medium onion, finely chopped (red onion looks pretty in it; white onion tastes really good. I usually use yellow onion because that’s what we always have)
½ - 1 jalapeno, very finely diced
½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of ½ lime
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Mix ingredients together and refrigerate for at least an hour or two before serving.