Author Notes: I didn’t really learn all that much about Mexican food until I moved to Colorado from my native New England. I fell in love with the traditional Mexican food that can be found in the out-of-the-way Mexican grocery stores whose secret food stands inside remain one of the best places to find amazing and traditional foods. With menus scribbled on white boards in Spanish (which I can’t read). Along with tacos and burritos, they are usually home to ‘taco bars’ with a stunning variety of sauces and dips and salsas. I’ve tried to recreate their pico recipe here. Simple, clean and hot. All the amounts are completely flexible and can be altered to suit your taste – totally impossible to mess up! Use it as a topping for tacos, fajitas, tuna fish (that’s my weird liking), waffles, whatever! —Niknud
Serves: as long as the chips last!
Ingredients
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1/4
cup freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
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2
garlic cloves, minced
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1
jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed and diced (or to taste)
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1/2
teaspoon kosher salt
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1/2
white onion, diced
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4
plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
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1
tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions
- Squeeze the lime juice and add it to a bowl with the garlic, jalapeno and salt. If your grocer’s jalapenos are like mine, the heat varies tremendously so test out the peppers to see what you’re dealing with. Add more or less depending on your heat preference. I’ve used serranos in a pinch. Swirl around and let it sit for a few minutes and think about how delicious it should taste.
- Add the white onion followed by the tomato. Gently toss to combine and taste to adjust seasoning. Be warned: the jalapenos get hotter the longer they sit so if the heat level is borderline too hot watch out the next day! Once it is seasoned to your liking, gently fold in the cilantro. And that’s it – too easy!