serrano pico de gallo

Patrick and I live at different ends of the salsa spectrum. He is loyal to the smooth, almost soupy, and spicy salsas of the world. I, on the other hand, always prefer chunky pico de gallo (spicy of course), some of which are nearing salad territory. Shall we call pico de gallo deconstructed salsa? The chunkier the better (said no woman ever, except maybe in regard to food)!

Everyone needs a go-to salsa or pico de gallo recipe. At our house, salsa is a food we don’t want to be without. Here’s the (unfortunate) situation- we have a bag of tortilla chips but no salsa. Or, we are making breakfast burritos but don’t have any salsa. In the moment, it feels like a crime. Plus, we’re Alicia is hangry. BUT, we have some tomatoes, onions, and peppers… why not make our own? Besides a little bit of chopping, pico de gallo comes together nearly instantaneously. And, it’s fresher and tastier than the jarred salsa with a shelf life of two years.

Have fun with this recipe and adjust the spiciness as you prefer. Like a lot of the recipes on Dahlia Kitchen, this is one you can start with and mold into your own version. Though, I will brag and say it’s pretty delicious as written!

P.S. The next recipe coming your way will be something that pairs well with this salsa!

SERRANO PICO DE GALLO

makes ~16 ounces pico de gallo

12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
4 Serrano chilies, de-seeded and diced
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 large garlic cloves, minced
heaping 1/3 cup red onion, diced
heaping 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper as desired. When de-seeded, the chilies yield a mild to medium spice. For a spicy pico de gallo, leave in some of the seeds (at your own risk)!