Pico de Gallo

My tomatoes are ripening gloriously in the sun and it’s time to put ‘em to use.

This recipe is barely a recipe, but since moving East, I’ve been amazed how few people on this side of the Rockies make pico de gallo at home. The stuff from the store is sad: pale, slimy, vinegary and sweet. What you make at home is delectable, refreshing and irresistible. It’s good on everything, but at our house it almost never lasts long enough for its myriad applications.

Ingredients:

4 large or 8 small ripe tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs), cored, seeded and diced

1 white onion, diced (or red, if that’s what you have on hand)

1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed and diced (optional, but recommended. One jalapeno usually won’t make it very spicy, just a pleasant warmth, but if you’re sensitive, you can leave it out.)

Juice of one lime (or to taste)

About 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

1 clove of garlic, diced (I always add this, pretty sure it’s not authentic, but I likes my garlic)

Salt

Dice everything nice and small, toss it in a big bowl and squeeze lime juice over it to taste. Add salt to taste. That’s all there is to it. It allegedly tastes best if you let it sit and marinate for a bit but I have never been able to wait long enough to find out just what the proper amount of marinating time should be.

You can add chopped ripe avocado to this (delicious), and if you’re going to do that, you might as well also add a bag of those tiny salad shrimp and call it ceviche (not quite authentic, but close enough and so, so delicious). Eat it with tortilla chips. Serve it over beans and rice, fajitas, tacos, scrambled eggs, a boring piece of fish you’re only eating because you feel guilty about the pizza you ate over the weekend, whatever you can think of. This is magic happy sauce that makes everything better. It will cure depression and make your children call you. Trust me. This is the good stuff.