DIY pico de gallo

Why DIY pico de gallo?

In short, because DIY pico de gallo is better. I am not the world’s best at DIY as my closet full of IKEA ‘spare’ parts will attest (seriously, why does that happen?). When it comes to food, DIY means that you own quality control. You can adjust the seasonings, textures and flavor profiles exactly to your taste plus you can eliminate all gate-crashers like extra oil and additives. Use pico de gallo to flavor up your favorites, like tacos, wraps or a healthy snack. Bueno.

Pico flavor

I usually go for Roma tomatoes when I DIY pico de gallo, but you can use whatever kind you like. Look for tomatoes that are fresh and red. If you take an extra minute to deseed, I recommend it. You’ll find your pico de gallo will last a bit longer and stay fresher. Just cut your tomatoes into quarters and run your knife down the middle. That’s my quick, likely unprofessional way to accomplish this task.

Don’t cry for me pico

The perfect DIY onions for pico de gallo are red. They are sweeter and not tear-inducingly strong. I do an unoriginal dicing trick by cutting the end off the top and only a bit of the end, chopping them in half and then peeling any outer skin left. I find that easier. From there, I lay a half on the cutting board and slice horizontally three quarters of the way in and then cutting vertically. From there, just start cutting straight down. No tears.

Let’s roll

By all accounts, coriander and cilantro are the same thing – that fragrant fresh herb used in a lot of Mexican and Asian dishes. When I first moved to The Netherland, I lamented to a friend that I really missed cilantro. She was kind enough to ask: “do you mean coriander?” Ya, that stuff.

Let’s roll onward with DIY pico de gallo. If you’re looking for a quick way to chop coriander, try cutting the thick bottom stems, rolling it in a ball, cutting through that herb ball and then spreading it out to allow the flavor to release.

Jalapenos – universal word (I think)

Jalapenos are jalapenos (even in Dutch). If you like walking on the spicy spice, leave the seeds, otherwise, remove them before dicing. If you don’t wear gloves for this procedure (usually, I can’t be asked), then just be sure to wash your hands and don’t be me, don’t try to put your contact lenses in after you do this.

Pico de gallo versus salsa

This is not one of those 'word' things. Pico de gallo is always served raw and chunky. Salsa whether you make it our get the jarred stuff, is a puree of sorts and is often cooked or uses stewed tomatoes. Besides, salsa means ‘sauce’ and pico mean spicy (or beak). Gallo means rooster. I leave this for you to draw your own conclusions. Do roosters bite?

Final thoughts

Words sometimes make me laugh. You wouldn’t believe the amount of times that my British husband and I have had communication breakdowns only to be left laughing by our failure to speak the same language. And don’t get me started on phrases. It’s been a good lesson in considering sender intention rather than relying solely on receiver interpretation. Intention, then interpretation. Peace.

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