Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo is a popular Mexican salsa tracing back to ancient Aztec cuisine and specifically from the Yucatan Peninsula, Sonora, Guanajuato, and Oaxaca regions of Mexico. It also goes by the name salsa bandera, which means flag salsa, because it depicts the green, white, and red colors of the Mexican national flag. It is also known as “Salsa Fresca,” or “Salsa Cruda.”  No matter which name you know this chunky fresh salsa dish by, it has a kick that brightens and freshens up any meal or snack table.

It is traditionally made with equal parts tomatoes and onion (I use red onion), with fresh cilantro, a generous squeeze of lime juice, a serrano pepper (jalapeno works fine), and seasoned with salt.  There is no cooking involved.  Just chop up all the ingredients, add the lime juice and salt.  The key to a traditional Pico de Gallo is in letting it rest. Combine all of the ingredients, cover and refrigerate for a day. The tomatoes will juice up and the flavors will meld so every bite is flavor-packed.

You can mix up your Pico de Gallo in many ways.  I have frequently made my with fresh peaches, cucumbers, watermelon, blueberries, or mango.  The choices are endless.

How to Serve
You can serve Pico de Gallo as a topping for breakfast foods, enchiladas, tacos, nachos and more. It is so versatile! It is also perfect as an appetizer with chips.

Pico de Gallo is seriously irresistible and my love for this wonderfully fresh salsa runs deep. My only complaint is that it disappears too quickly so I highly recommend making a double or triple batch.

Recipe:
1 cup Tomatoes, diced
1 cup Red Onion, diced
1 Serrano or Jalapeno Pepper – seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 Lime
Salt to taste