Pico de Gallo
Fresh chopped tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime. The bright, crunchy salsa that finishes tri tip tacos, tortas, and burritos.
Pico de gallo is the freshest thing you can put next to tri tip: raw tomato, onion, chile, cilantro, and lime, chopped and tossed, nothing cooked. It is called salsa fresca for a reason. Where a cooked salsa brings depth, pico brings crunch and a clean, bright acidity that cuts straight through smoky, charred beef.
The whole game is keeping it from going watery. Use Roma tomatoes, seed them, and dice everything small and even so it scoops and stacks instead of sliding off. Salt pulls moisture out as it sits, so drain off any liquid that pools before it hits the plate.
This is the salsa that finishes the leftover plays, a spoon on tri tip tacos, tortas, and burritos, and it is just as good next to a plate of carne asada tri tip. Make it the day you cook, because it is best fresh and softens after a day in the fridge.
Fresh pico was always a staple at our house and at every cookout, made fresh, never from a jar. A bowl of salsa on the table was just how we ate, and it still is.
Ingredients
- 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small
- 1/2 white onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (leave the seeds in for more heat)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- 1
Seed and finely dice the Roma tomatoes.
Seeding is what keeps the salsa from going watery. Roma tomatoes have less juice and more flesh than slicing tomatoes, so the pico stays chunky.
- 2
Finely dice the onion and jalapeno, and chop the cilantro.
Keep the dice small and even so every bite has a little of everything.
- 3
Combine everything in a bowl with the lime juice and salt, and toss well.
Salt draws water out of the tomatoes, so drain off any excess liquid before serving if it pools.
- 4
Let it sit 15 minutes at room temperature, then taste and adjust salt and lime.
Pico is best the day it is made. It holds a day or two in the fridge, but the tomatoes soften.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving
- Calories
- 15
- Protein
- 1 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Sat. Fat
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 120 mg
- Cholesterol
- 0 mg
Values are estimates based on standard ingredients and serving sizes.
Related Recipes
Tri Tip Tacos
Sliced or chopped tri tip in warm tortillas with onion, cilantro, salsa, and lime. The fastest, best thing to do with leftover Santa Maria tri tip.
Carne Asada Tri Tip
Carne asada tri tip marinated in orange, lime, garlic, and chiles, grilled hot and sliced thin for tacos. Big citrus-chile flavor on a bigger cut.
Guacamole
Ripe avocado, lime, onion, cilantro, and serrano, mashed chunky. The cool, rich counter to smoky, charred tri tip.