Pico de Gallo Salsa

July 17, 2012 · by

 

It’s summer time, and that means that there is a ton of beautiful fresh produce in season.  I have so many recipes that I pull out this time of year, but I think my very favorite is homemade pico de gallo. I grow tomatoes, jalapenos, & cilantro every year – so it just seems like the perfect thing to make to use it up too.  And, we sure do eat it up.

Pico de Gallo is not hard to make at all, and it really ‘makes’ a variety of Mexican dishes.  Like my steak tacos.  And, my pork tacos.  Plus – there’s always just scooping it up with a tortilla chip for an awesome snack.

It’s quite simple actually too.  Start off with your tomatoes – dice them up into petite bits and let them sit in a strainer basket (or colander) over a large bowl. This allows some of the excess juices off the tomatoes.  




Oh, and don’t make the mistake of throwing away the tomato juice that drains off.  That’s good stuff there – and I’m all about not wasting anything.  It’s great to use in a marinade, in a juice or smoothie, or even as extra moisture in a recipe.  I actually use it in my pork tacos (recipe coming tomorrow) to help keep the pork moist while simmering.




While you have your tomatoes draining, dice up your onion, jalapeno, & cilantro.  

That’s leftover chopped pork in the picture is for pork tacos.  But don’t put pork into your Pico de Gallo.  Please.

Once the tomatoes are done being ‘juiced’, mix it all up in a large bowl.  Then, squeeze the juice of one lime on top and give it another stir.  And, I have to add in that if you don’t have one of these nifty lemon/lime juicers, you’re missing out.  I am in love with mine, and it gets way more juice out than my hands – and it’s just a fraction of the price of a traditional juicer.


Let it sit in the fridge, covered, for a good 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to marry a little.  

Fantastic stuff there, I tell ya.  And pretty too.




Store it in the fridge in an airtight container – and if you see you haven’t used it all in about 48 hours (as if that’s even possible) – just throw it into your food processor or blender, and make it into a restaurant style salsa, and can it. When my garden is really overflowing, I do this first thing and make several batches to can to enjoy in the winter.  Yummers.


Print
Pico de Gallo Salsa

Pico de Gallo Salsa

Ingredients

  • 4 medium to large vine ripe tomatoes, diced
  • 1 medium red onion, diced
  • 2-4 jalapenos, minced (use accordingly to how hot you want it)
  • 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1.5 cups, or suit to your taste)
  • 1 lime, juiced

Instructions

Place the diced tomatoes into a strainer, or colander, over a large bowl. Let ‘drain’ for about 30 minutes. Reserve the juice for another use, if desired. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, & cilantro. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime on top, and stir. Cover, and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes for flavors to marry.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 48-72 hours. You can also put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender for more of a ‘restaurant style’ salsa, and it’s great for canning purposes this way too.


MrsHappyHomemaker

Like what you see here on the Mrs? Never miss a thing! Subscribe to my RSS Feed, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+. You can also follow my boards on Pinterest!

Filed Under: Appetizers, Canning, Cooking, Dips/Sauces, Healthy Eating, Mexican, Snacks, Vegetables ·