Basic Pico de Gallo a la Emily

Pico de gallo. That wonderful, wonderful condiment. I'm not a huge fan of dipping in pico, there are other homemade salsas I like better for that application, but I AM a huge fan of using it as my mexican food topping of choice. Chicken tacos x's 2, enchiladas, you name it if it's latin american inspired-I'm heaping pico de gallo on top every single time. (My taste buds say ground meat mexican dishes aren't good candidates for pico-but shredded pork, beef, or chicken numbers definitely are.) I'm sharing this in conjunction with this amazing white chicken chili because it's an absolutely necessary addition in my humble opinion.

It can seem a tad time-consuming what with the chopping, and seeding, and chopping some more. But it's oh so worth it.

Basic Pico de Gallo

A word to the wise-this is more a list of ingredients and less a use this exact amount recipe. Personalize to your tastes and taste plenty as you go to direct what you add more of. The real key with pico is to use LOTS of the non-tomato items. Most people use onions and cilantro as a minor addition to tomatoes. Don't do it! Shoot for an equal amount of onions to tomato ratio. And plenty of cilantro is a must. Lastly, removing the juicy seedy pulp from the tomatoes before chopping and adding them to the bowl is crucial in my opinion. More time consuming, but crucial.

6+ roma tomatoes, halved, seeds and extra juice removed, and chopped into itty bitty pieces

1 large white onion, chopped into pieces similar in size to tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

juice of one lime or lemon

1 T white vinegar, give or take

plenty of kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 jalapeno, mostly seeded and very finely minced

garlic powder to taste if desired

generous handful of cilantro, chopped

Optional: red pepper flakes for added heat

Combine all ingredients, taste and adjust. Best if you let sit a bit before serving so flavors can meld. Keeps for about a day, but really not any longer. Best served the same day.