Pico de Gallo (Vegan)

¡Bienvenidos a todos! Soon it’s Cinco de Mayo and time to party! I’ve created some easy and tasty recipes for you to achieve an authentic atmosphere. Let’s start with Pico de Gallo, fresh salsa or salad, which accompanies any Mexican food in a perfect way. It’s a bit spicy but in a gentle way: it tickles your tongue but doesn’t scorch it.

This Pico de Gallo is for all those who hate cilantro (including me…), however, those who adore this peculiar produce of Mother Earth can add chopped cilantro to their hearts’ content.

 

 

 

Pico de Gallo (Vegan) 4 small firm Roma tomatoes (approx. 8 oz = 230 g) 1 small onion (approx. 1.5 oz = 45 g) 1 small or medium raw jalapeno pepper (approx. 0.7 oz = 20 g) 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1–2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice from organic limes   Directions Wash the tomatoes and pat dry. Dice the tomatoes into tiny dices. Place the tomato dices in a medium bowl. Peel the onion and discard the peels. Chop the onion also into tiny dices. Add to the bowl with tomatoes. Wash gently the jalapeno pepper and pat dry. Cut off the hard ends and discard them. Chop the jalapeno also into tiny dices and add to the bowl where you have placed the tomato and onion dices. Add garlic salt and lime juice to taste. Mix well and serve.

 

 

 

Nutrition information	Protein	Fat	Net carbs	kcal
In total:	2.5 g	0.1 g	11.0 g	55 kcal
Per 1/4 cup (60 ml):	0.5 g	0.0 g	2.2 g	11 kcal

 

 

 

 

 

Tips for making the Pico de Gallo

Be sure to dice all veggies into very tiny dices. You can remove the hard green and white parts from the tomatoes so that they don’t disturb your palate in the ready dish.

Talking about tomatoes, this dish benefits from firm tomatoes, not soft and ripe ones. First of all, firm tomatoes are easier to handle and dice, and secondly, they bring more structure and texture to this salsa.

One small jalapeno gives a little bit of heat, but please add another one if you prefer hotter and spicier flavors. I normally use the seeds from the jalapeno as well, they are the hottest part. I hope you remember that it’s important to wash your hands properly after handling jalapeno to get rid of the capsaicin, which feels nastily burning if your eyes or other tissues come into contact with it.

In case you don’t have garlic salt, you can use 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt instead.

You can let the ready Pico de Gallo stand in the fridge in an airtight container for a couple of hours to make the flavors deeper. However, it’s a good idea to serve this salsa pretty soon, as it starts to develop water and becomes quite soupy if stored long (like you see from my photos here…).
 

 

 

 

 

Tips for variation

Since jalapeno might be too spicy for kids, you get more kid-friendly version by replacing the jalapeno with green onion or chives.

Like already mentioned, fresh cilantro is a must for those who can stand this herb. Please add plenty, as it complements other flavors extremely well.

More fresh and spicy flavor you can get by replacing the garlic salt with fresh, minced garlic and unrefined sea salt. I would use two cloves of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, but please feel free to adjust the amounts to your liking.

Chopped avocado is also a great addition, it makes the mouthfeel creamier and the dish more filling. Nothing prevents from adding shrimps as well, they are very elegant and go perfectly with this salsa.

This blog post was quite short since I’m planning to publish still a couple of basic Mexican recipes which are naturally low in carbs before Cinco de Mayo. Stay tuned!