by Eating Healthy with Chili Peppers: This series will walk through the advantage of adding chili peppers to your meals to kick up the taste and the heat while keeping the calories down.
Previous Post: Quick & Easy Salsa Rojo
Pico de Gallo translates to “beak of the rooster”, and this salsa can be found with many different ingredients in the various regions across Mexico. But here in the states it is best known as a mixture of chilis, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Following is a quick, easy and very tasty recipe.
Ingredients:
5 to 6 Medium Tomatoes, Diced
1/3 Cup Sweet Onion, Finely Diced
1 Jalapeno, Finely Diced
1 Serrano, Finely Diced
2 to 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced (Optional)
1 to 2 Tablespoons Cilantro, Minced
1 to 2 Teaspoons Honey
1 Medium Lemon or Lime
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
I usually start by adding the honey and lemon/lime juice to the bowl and mixing them together. Then I add the onions and garlic and stir them together to soak up the sweetness and tang of the first two items. That’s not absolutely necessary, but just a suggestion as it mellows the harsher side of those two ingredients. Then I add everything else to the bowl, stir, and taste. Adjust salt and pepper and/or other ingredients as needed.
This recipe uses one Jalapeno and one Serrano which will give you a salsa that is approaching Medium heat. If you are preparing this for people who prefer less spice (we weep for them), you can exclude the Serrano and possibly even replace the Jalapeno with about a quarter cup of diced fresh Poblano. For myself, I usually do two Serranos along with the Poblano (it has better taste than the Jalapeno), and that kicks up the heat even more. If you want a really fiery Pico de Gallo, add a Habanero chili.
The garlic is optional in case you are not a big fan of that bulb. It adds a meaty taste to the salsa, and I rather enjoy it, but some may prefer to leave it out. You can also add some chopped red bell pepper if you happen to have some in the fridge. Or if you want to give it a tropical twist, take out one tomato and add half a cup of diced fresh mango.
For me, cilantro is essential to the taste of Pico do Gallo. But some people cannot stand the taste of the herb, so they may want to leave it out. You can chop up a green onion and add it as a substitute, but, for the love of God, DO NOT add parsley as some people will suggest. The flavor profile is all wrong and parsley has NO BUSINESS in salsa!
Pico de Gallo goes particularly well with fajitas (in fact, I think it’s a law that it must be served with that dish here in Texas), but it also pairs well with eggs or on a burger or a taco or works well as a side with chips. While I tend to take the immersion blender to many of my salsas, I leave the Pico alone. It works best as a chunky fresh salsa. Feel free to tinker with the recipe as you wish as you can create any of a number of variations on this tasty salsa that will kick things up without adding many calories.
Up Next: Lotta Pepper Salsa
