{Sunny Recipes} – Really, really good Pico de Gallo

Howdy there, folks!  I think I’m going to start a new little series on the blog.  I l.o.v.e. to cook.  I want to be a chef when I grow up.  It wasn’t always this way.  There was a time, not long ago, when all I could do was boil water.  Then, Alex & I started dating and I knew the key to his heart was food.  Really good food.  He’s a total foodie, so I knew I had to get my kitchen skills together to make him fall in love with me.  It totally worked!  Now, I’m addicted to cooking and baking and will try any recipe!

One of the very first recipes I took on was Pico de Gallo.  We had a party to attend & I wanted to be a nice guest and bring something tasty.  I was really worried about it since I had never successfully chopped an onion before & I had no idea what some of the ingredients were.  Actually, I don’t even like Pico.  I had no idea what it should taste like.  I followed the recipe carefully (and guessed on some of the ingredients) and, as if I was blessed with a gift from the Gods, it turned out perfectly.

It’s been famous ever since.  BAM.  I’m a chef. 

Everyone loves it so much, I am sharing the recipe with you…

 Ingredients:

• 1 large white onion
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 3 or 4 chiles in adobe sauce (you can find cans of these in the ethnic food aisle)
• 2 fat lemons
• a pinch or two (or three) of sea salt
• lots of freshly ground pepper

Recipe:

• Squeeze one entire lemon into a large mixing bowl
• Dice your large onion into semi-small pieces.  Check out this cool onion chopping tutorial from The Pioneer Woman!  It really helped me!
• Place your diced onion into your mixing bowl with lemon juice.  It will get nice and lemony.
• Chop your tomatoes into chunks.  You can make them whatever size you like your chunky tomatoes to be.
• Place your chopped tomatoes into the bowl of lemony-oniony goodness & mix it up a little bit.
• Pull off the leaves of the cilantro & chop them up.  I personally, do not like to include the stems but you can chop them up & throw them in there too if you like.  Alex says that’s where all of the flavor is, so I usually throw them in for him. Once you are finished chopping, toss the cilantro into the bowl of tomato/onion/lemony goodness & mix it up.
• Open the can of chiles in adobe sauce.  They smell pretty funky (in my opinion).  Chop up two or three chiles (it will be messy) & throw them into the bowl too.  Be sure to add a bit of extra sauce to your pico – the sauce makes it extra spicy!  If you put the leftover chiles & sauce into a sealed storage container, they will last at least a month or so.
• Squeeze your other whole lemon into the pico
• Add a few pinches of salt (to your liking)
• Add in freshly ground pepper (also to your liking)
• Let your pico cure in the fridge for a long while (I usually make it the night before a get together & leave it in there all night) so the flavors have lots of time to develop! <- I totally just sounded like I know what I’m talking about.

& that’s it!  Serve your Pico at your next gathering – perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or a March Madness get together!

Next time, I will take pictures as I’m actually making the dish for better instructions.  These photos (courtesy of Ciulla Photography) are from mine & Alex’s wedding.  For our favors, I made Pico de Gallo & jarred it in masons as our favors/seating chart.  Each jar was labeled with a guest’s name & table.  Our tables were named after our favorite cities from around the World!   Leave me a comment & tell me what you think & how people like your Pico!   Happy Friday!

xoxo,

Amanda

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