Easy Pico de Gallo
A bright, chunky no-cook salsa of diced roma tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño, sharpened with fresh lime and garlic. Ready in ten minutes flat.
- 5 whole roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 large yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 1/2 large jalapeno pepper, minced, seeded if you want a more mild taste
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- Salt, to taste
- Dice the roma tomatoes and yellow onion, then mince the cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic. Combine everything in a large bowl — since nothing here gets cooked, an even, fine dice on the aromatics helps them distribute their flavor throughout the salsa rather than clumping in one bite.
- Squeeze in the fresh lime juice and give everything a thorough stir to combine. Season with salt to taste, tasting as you go — a good pico de gallo should taste bright and a little punchy, so don't be shy with the salt and lime.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Even a short chill helps the flavors settle together, though it's plenty good enough to eat right away if you're in a hurry.
Chef's Note: Pico de gallo lives and dies by the quality of its tomatoes — since nothing here is cooked down or simmered, ripe, firm roma tomatoes with real flavor make all the difference over a bland, watery batch. Draining off a bit of the excess tomato liquid after dicing, if it seems especially juicy, keeps the finished salsa chunky instead of soupy.
This is endlessly adjustable to taste — leave the jalapeño seeds in for more heat, or swap in a milder pepper if you're serving a crowd that's heat-shy. It keeps well covered in the fridge for a few days, though it's at its brightest and freshest within the first 24 hours, so it's worth making close to when you plan to serve it.
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