Pico De Gallo is an extremely simple topping to make that can be incorporated into a large variety of dishes. Pico de gallo in its simplest form is Cilantro, Onion, and Tomato. I have a few extra ingredients that add to its flavor and complexity. Let’s dig in!
Time to make: 15-20 minutes. You spend most of that time chopping.
Difficulty: Super Easy! No cooking required!
Ingredients:
6 Roma Tomato’s (It doesn’t have to be Roma Tomato’s, but they’re the most convenient and cheapest that I can find.)
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Medium White Onion (you CAN substitute a different onion if you don’t have white onions)
2 teaspoons of Minced Garlic (Spice World offers minced garlic in a fridge-safe container, and can be found in most grocers. It simplifies the process!)
2 teaspoons of Lemon Juice (fresh or concentrate; either is okay!)
2 teaspoons of Sriracha (optional; but in my opinion it makes the flavors pop and adds a light heat)
1 teaspoon of pepper (optional; for flavor)
Tools:
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Mixing Spoon
1 – 2 Glass Storage Containers or Ziploc Bags
1 Serrated Knife
1 Teaspoon for measuring
STEP ONE:
Dice up your onion into little squares as shown below. Collect your diced onion in a mixing bowl.
Step Two:
Cut the tops of the six Roma tomatoes and throw tops into a garbage bag.
Step Three:
Gently squeeze the guts out of your Roma Tomatoes as shown below. This step is important so you don’t have a watery pico de gallo or seeds hovering around bottom of your container and turning an ugly brown color.
** note: when you’re done squeezing the guts out your tomato, it will look like the image below. All you should have left is the meat of the tomato, while the juices and seeds have been removed.
**note: Repeat the tomato process with all tomatoes until you are done. All your topless and gutless tomatoes will look like the ones below. You don’t have to squeeze very hard to get the juices and seeds out. Feel free to use a finger to dig in (make sure your hands are clean!) and get the rest out if needed.
Step Four:
Dice your tomatoes up like you did the onions, and mix them into the bowl with your diced onion. Try to keep your dices the same size. As you can see in the image below some of the seeds didn’t make it down the garbage disposal. That’s okay! It’s not a perfect science. Don’t waste your time trying to dig ’em out at this point; what’s important is that most of the guts are removed.
If you have problems cutting through the tomato skin it’s most likely due to a dull knife. To avoid finding another knife, I suggest using a serrated knife like the one in the photo below. It rips through the tomato skin easier than most.
Step Five:
Wash your cilantro if you haven’t already.
Dab the cilantro bunch with two paper towels to remove as much water as possible.
After washing, start dicing and slicing the cilantro.
Dump them into the mixing bowl with your tomato and onion.
Step Six:
Mix 2 teaspoons of Minced Garlic into the mixing bowl (with the cilantro, onion, and tomato you previously chopped).
** note: “Spice World” offers minced garlic in a fridge-safe container, and can be found in most grocers. An image of the product is below and in the main image above.
You are absolutely free to mince your own garlic if you choose to do so. However, garlic cloves are small, slippery, and have a strong astringent scent that is hard to wash off hands. My best advice is to get the pre-minced garlic; it will save you so much time!
Step Seven:
Mix into the bowl 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. The lemon juice acts as an all natural preservative. It also adds a wonderful zest to the overall flavor of the Pico De Gallo.
Step Eight:
Add 2 teaspoons of Sriracha sauce. This is optional, but I highly recommend adding it in for some light heat. The cayenne in the Sriracha is wonderful for lowering blood pressure and improving blood circulation.
Step Nine:
Add your 1 teaspoon of pepper, then grab your mixing spoon and start stirring! Mix it up until everything is equally mixed up. When your done it should look similar to the image below.
p.s. Ignore my Birkenstock’s & Socks; it was a cold day when I took these photos. Haha!
Step Ten:
Pour your Pico De Gallo into Glass Containers OR freezer Ziploc bags. (No plastic, no metal.)
The reason I don’t suggest storing in plastic containers is because Pico De Gallo has a HIGH acid content and will damage the appearance of most plastic containers, kind of like tomato sauce does to those 80s Tupperware containers. Remember those? May you have one in the back of the closet?
Don’t store the Pico De Gallo in a metal container (mixing briefly in a metal bowl is fine, but for long term storage DO NOT use a metal container.) All my mixing bowls are metal, but our household doesn’t use them for storage. The pico de gallo will develop a metallic disgusting taste if you store it in a metal container.
Freezer Ziploc bags are unlikely to get damaged by the acid contents, but it doesn’t matter because when you’re done you throw the used Ziploc bags out. If you want to waste less; use a reusable glass container.
You did it! Now have fun incorporating this topping onto your nachos, scrambled eggs, burritos, on top of chili, and much more! Let me know how following this recipe went, if you have any questions, or feel free to share photos of YOUR creation.
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Wanderlust & Smoke 