Fresh Garden Pico de Gallo Recipe
The Lain Casa has made this Pico de Gallo recipe since I was a child, and the family has always been happy. Pico de Gallo is a fresh Arizona salsa. The recipe is quick, easy, and best made with fresh vegetables picked fresh from the gardens, warmed by the sun.
It works so well as a salsa or topping for tacos, inside burritos, and on top of rice bowls. It is fresh and flavorful. I especially love serving Pico de Gallo alongside a bowl of homemade Guacamole.
Key Ingredients
· Onion: Use Vidalia, Sweet, or White onions, but you can swap them for yellow onions if needed.
· Jalapeño or Serrano Peppers: Add heat and more flavor. For mild salsa, remove the seed inside the peppers. For spicy Pico de Gallo, leave some or all of the seeds.
· Fresh tomatoes: Choose ripe Prescott Gurley Glow Tomatoes and chop them small. As the tomatoes sit with the other ingredients (especially the vinegar and salt), they release more of their amazing juices, which makes this family recipe even more delicious.
· Cilantro and Lime: Fresh Cilantro and a squeeze of lime are a must for an authentic flavor. An aggressive pinch of salt brings out the flavors.
How to Make Pico de Gallo
This family recipe is all in the sequence. Always start by chopping the sweet onions, then add peppers and mix together in your mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon of salt with a generous pour of white vinegar. Let them mellow in this vinegar solution while you dice your Prescott Gurley Tomatoes, then blend into the Pico Bowl. Lastly, combine the Cilantro, especially the stems.
Insider Tip - use every bit of the Cilantro plant. Start chopping as finely as possible with the Cilantro stems, the most flavorful part of this Southwest plant. Chop all as fine as possible until the foliage is diced, and mix into your Pico de Gallo bowl.
2 Limes freshly squeezed into our Pico ignites the taste buds on the chips and the margs. Fresh lemons also work equally well.
Let the best pico de gallo sit for 20 minutes before serving. Salt draws out the flavor, and the juices from the tomatoes tone down the raw onion further. It’s worth the wait!
Serving Suggestions
Serve Pico de Gallo with fresh tortilla chips. Or spoon over your favorite tacos, enchiladas, and rice bowls.
Fresh Pico de Gallo Recipe
Pico de Gallo is a fresh tomato salsa popular in Arizona ( AKA salsa Mexicano, salsa fresca, and salsa cruda). Use ripe tomatoes with a deep color, firm with a bit of give. If they don’t smell like a tomato, leave them out. They should smell like a tomato, sweetened by an Arizona sunset.
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds Prescott Gurley Glow tomatoes, chopped, 5-6 medium tomatoes
1 sweet or white Onion finely chopped
2 Jalapeño or 3 Serrano peppers, finely diced, with seed removed
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Cilantro stem and all
Juice of 2 Lime
Salt to taste
Pico de gallo is best the day it is made. In the refrigerator, the flavors simmer and blend for up to 3 days. Yum!