"You Say Tomato and I Say Tomahto..." : Fresh Pico De Gallo

"You Say Tomato and I Say Tomahto..." : Fresh Pico De Gallo

It wasn't a great season for tomatoes in Sacramento this year, but the tomato seedlings Mr. S. planted did bear us a decent amount of fruit. Seen below (being fondled by my lovely assistant) are some of the tasty salsa tomatoes that came in (one of two different varieties of tomatoes that were planted). I'm not a big fan of super-liquidy salsa, so I decided to make some pico de gallo with the tomatoes instead. Pico de gallo is ultra easy to throw together and is great with tortilla chips, atop a quesadilla or my favorite...sprinkled on an omelet.

I dug up a recipe on Simply Recipes and voila! In mere minutes, we had some fresh pico de gallo for a Sunday afternoon snack. (Note: I subbed in 5 salsa tomatoes and sprinkled in a bit of cumin to jazz it up).

Fast & Fresh Pico De Gallo

Ingredients

• 2-3 medium sized fresh tomatoes (from 1 lb to 1 1/2 lb), stems removed, finely diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
• 1 serano chili pepper (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
• Juice of one lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: oregano and or cumin to taste

Directions

1. Start with chopping up 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes. Prepare the chilies. Be very careful while handling these hot peppers. If you can, avoid touching them with your hands. Use a fork to cut up the chilies over a small plate, or use a paper towel to protect your hands. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after handling and avoid touching your eyes for several hours. Set aside some of the seeds from the peppers. If the salsa isn't hot enough, you can add a few for heat.

2. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Taste. If the chilies make the salsa too hot, add some more chopped tomato. If not hot enough, carefully add a few of the seeds from the chilies, or add some ground cumin.

3. Let sit for an hour for the flavors to combine.

Makes approximately 3-4 cups.