I make a pico de gallo that my Spanish class (most of whom spoke Spanish) and Chilean teacher all loved. The teacher said it was the best he had ever had and took a sample to his wife. I'm sure that went over well ("See, honey? This is what it's supposed to taste like!") A classmate asked, "How did a gringa learn to make such good pico de gallo?" Then said the process was longer than she'd do, despite liking it.
Tomatoes - however many required for the amount you want.
Red Onion
Green Onion
Cilantro
Jalapeño - the sliced kind in a jar, fresh is too strong, canned tastes tin-y
Lemon or Lime juice
1. Start with the tomatoes. Slice off the top and remove the liquid-y part with a small sharp knife--it adds too much liquid to the end product. Dice up the tomatoes to the size you want. Put the tomato in a fine-ish strainer to get more of the liquid out.
Now it gets trickier, because quantity all depends on how many tomatoes you used. Start with under-adding; you can always put more in if the ratios are off.
2. Red Onion. Dice up in a finer dice than the tomatoes, maybe half the physical size. You want to taste onion without it overpowering everything. Quantity? About 1/4 as much as the tomatoes, depending on how much you like onion, to start with.
3. Green Onion. Wash them well and cut the short way, all the way down to and including the white part. If the green onions are huge (I've seen some almost half the size of leeks!), cut them longways first. Add as much as you like the flavor, but an amount less than the red onion.
4. Cilantro. Wash them and really dry them well. Remove the leaves and chop them fine. You don't want to graze on leaves, you just want to taste the cilantro. If you don't want to waste the stems, trim the bottoms and cut them VERY fine. Add as much as you like the flavor.
5. Jalapeño. Use as much as you like, but really flatten them out with the side of your cutting knife. No little chunks left, practically pureed. All flavor, no surprise. Use as much as you like. I use less for Hubby, but I like slam-your-hand-on-the-table strength.
6. Lemon or Lime Juice. A few squirts to brighten the flavors.
Combine everything and give it a few stirs.
Now, I know people are gonna say it's too dry. Don't worry. The liquid will come out while it's in the fridge macerating. If it's too dry for you, add some of the vinegar from the jar of sliced jalapeño. TAKE THIS ADDED AMOUNT INTO ACCOUNT--it'll kick up the flavor!
It took me nine years to get it right--that is, the way Hubby likes it. He's particular. But since my Spanish class liked it, I'd say Hubby was right.
