Pico de Gallo
Salt it early and leave it alone. That is the whole recipe.
- Yield
- about 4 cups, enough for 10 at a taco bar
- Active
- 15 min
- Total
- 3 hours with the rest
Roma, not a slicing tomato. Romas are drier, meatier and have less jelly, which is exactly what you want in a bowl that sits for three hours. A beefsteak tastes better on its own and turns pico to soup.
Stems in. Cilantro stems carry more flavor than the leaves and disappear once they are chopped fine.
Grate the garlic, do not chop it. Chopped raw garlic gives hot spots; grated disappears into the whole bowl.
Make it in the morning for lunch. It peaks at about three hours and is still good at six.
Taste for salt at the end, not the start. Pouring the liquid off takes some salt with it.
Ingredients
Method
-
Prep
Seed the tomatoes. Halve them lengthwise and run a thumb or a spoon down each side. The seeds and the jelly around them are water, and water is what turns pico into soup by hour two.
-
Prep
Dice everything small and even. It goes on a taco, so nothing should need a second bite.
-
Rest
Salt it and leave it 15 minutes. The salt pulls water out of the tomato and onion, which is what you want happening in the bowl rather than on the taco.
-
Assemble
Pour off the liquid that collects, then add the lime, garlic and cilantro.
-
Rest
Rest at least an hour, three is better. The onion loses its edge and the whole thing tastes like one thing instead of six.
If it's not right
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Watery | The tomatoes were not seeded, or the liquid was not poured off after salting. | Seed them, and pour off what the salt pulls out. |
| Harsh and oniony | It has not rested long enough. | Give it an hour. |
| Flat | Under-seasoned. | More salt, then more lime, in that order. |
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