Ingredients
- Two ripe, red tomatoes
- One poblano pepper, firm and dark green
- One sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Bermuda
- One large lime
- One to two good-sized cloves of garlic
- Bit of salt
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
This is a recipe I came up with the other night whilst
learning to cook tortillas. It originally started as salsa,
but the end result was a subtle, very mild pico de gallo.
(This is a good thing, as my Mom gets quite sick around
large amounts of capsicum.) Trust me, the mildness and lack
of varied seasonings makes it nice and light.
Okay, on with the somewhat storyteller version of the
recipe. Once you''ve got all your ingredients out, your
butcher''s (don''t worry, they go through vegetables even
better than fingers ;)) and paring knives sharpened, a large
cutting board, and a BIG stack of paper towels, you''re just
about ready. Find a bowl to put everything in - not too
large, as this is the small version of the recipe. I went
too small at first and ended up with poblano bits AALLLLLL
over the counter. Believe you me, those little buggers are
hard to chase down. I think they grow legs once cut.
Anyway, the first thing to be done is core and slice the
tomatoes. Good! Now, don''t chop them yet, the fun is just
starting!
Cut all the pale pinkish bits from the tomatoes and
scrape out the seed gooey. I know, it''s all too reminiscent
of the slugs that ate your petunias. Just remember that
slugs are grey and icky, and this is red and icky. Get all
the pale and seedy bits out and use them for compost, or
test-feed them to the cat. I, personally, would take the
compost avenue (then again, I don''t have a cat). What''s
left is several slices of red tomato flesh. Now you can
chop it! Make the chunks about a centimetre/half an inch
across. Take the pile of tomato bits and wrap them in a
couple of paper towels. Gentle *S*Q*U*E*E*Z*E* out the
excess tomato juice. Yes, this is necessary. Otherwise you
get something closer to gazpacho than pico de gallo. This
is a good activity for kids and kids-at-heart, because the
tomatoes are nice and squishy and the juice gets
everywhere. Okay, put the tomato glob down and back
away slowly. While the ball is being defuse-- er, while the
excess water is soaked out, peel and chop the onion, and
seed and chop the poblano, to about the same size as the
tomato bits. (You *did* wash all these first, didn''t
you?)
Okay, now it''s time for the fun part! Dump everything
into your small bowl (not a metallic one if you can help it,
some metals don''t make the best of friends with acids, even
those found in lime or tomato). Don''t bother to mix them
yet, that comes later. Cut your lime in half. Here, you
have a choice. Do you use one half of the lime, or both? I
like both, but I also like things tangy. For a more subtle
taste, use half. For a limey taste, use half, and then the
other half. You''re almost finished! If you''re lucky to
have/be able to find your garlic press, use it. You''ll save
about five minutes. Otherwise, you get to do it the
old-fashioned way. Yup, that''s peel, cut off the hard
connector ends, and dice that garlic until it''s almost
powder. About the time your wrists fall off, reattach them
and scrape the garlic atop everything else. Use the blunt
side of your knife! The alternate is a dull knife and wood
or plastic scrapings in your munchies. From there, it''s
just a matter of a pinch of salt and a dose of pepper.
My method of mixing is more fun that "get a spoon and
stir". Either use a fitting lid on your bowl, or a sheet of
plastic wrap/waxed paper/something else non-porous secured
with a rubber band. Now... SHAKE! That''s right, pick up
that bowl and shake it, baby! Your soundtrack choices here
are "Shake Your Bootie," anything by Carmen Miranda, "Shake
It Up," or The Stray Cats. (What? Shakes were a big thing
in the ''50s, and in the ''80s as I recall. Remember the malt
shop from Grease?) Stick your pico de gallo, still covered,
in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours blend.
This is great on pretty much anything. I love it on
homemade tamales, my parents tend more towards pinto beans,
or just take an avocado half and fill the seed pit with the
stuff for a somewhat, er, decadent salad. :) I can''t be
held responsible for the addition of cumin (I am the Cumin
Queen! Usually...), cilantro/fresh coriander (we were out,
the store was out, and the slugs ate Mom''s crop), or any
other extra. Oh, yeah, and prepare to make more every few
days as long as the ingredients are in season...
Serves: Not enough! :)
Preparation time: ~15 minutes