Salsa or Pico?
It is summertime in the great state of Texas, and I was recently faced with a great dilemma. Salsa or pico? Pico de gallo that is, and I don’t mean a beak of a rooster.
Have you had a similar struggle?
Tomatoes in Abundance
We had about 10 tomato plants sprout up from the homemade compost that we spread across our vegetable garden. What a blessing to enjoy such a surprising number of tomatoes in all sizes and oh so delicious flavors.
It’s hard to beat a freshly picked tomato that you’ve grown yourself, especially when it’s still warm from the sun when you take a bite.
It reminds me of a movie about Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms. There is an adorable toddler being held by her dad that’s thoroughly enjoying a freshly-picked tomato while her dad is being interviewed.
If you decide to watch the movie preview on the link given, you’ll also see a portion of the little girl footage included about midway through. She is too cute!
Anyway…
Potential Benefits
You definitely enjoy a sense of accomplishment when you can eat something that you’ve grown.
I highly recommend it. There is an undeniable flavor difference between home (or locally) grown and fresh picked and the tomatoes you typically find at the grocery store.
When herbs and plants are grown in clean and nutrient-rich soil at home or nearby and picked at the optimum time and then quickly served on your table, you get access to the nutrients that that plant had access to.
The reported benefits of the individual ingredients of this salsa and pico de gallo include Vitamins A, C, and K, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium, niacin, lutein, and zeaxanthin just to name a few. A few of the potential benefits to your body include:
- detoxification
- digestion
- anti-bacterial
- anti-inflammatory
- cancer-fighting
- vision and skin health
- heart health
Recipe Similarity
You’ll find that the recipes for salsa and pico de gallo are very similar. The difference is really dependent upon what texture you want. Will you choose to dice everything up for a chunky flavor hit, or process the ingredients up into more of a saucy option.
A spicy topping for your favorite meals.
- 2 Tomatoes (Fresh, scar removed, quartered)
- 1/2 Onion (Skin and scar removed, quartered)
- 2 Cloves Garlic (Skin and scar removed, minced)
- 1/4-1/2 Cup Cilantro (Fresh preferred, excess stems removed)
- 1/2 Serrano pepper (Seeds and inside white flesh removed)
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice (Fresh preferred)
- Salt & Pepper (To taste preference)
- 1/2 Tablespoon Coconut oil
-
Lightly sauté the minced garlic in a skillet with melted oil.
-
Put all ingredients, except salt and pepper, in your blender or food processor and process until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
-
Add salt and pepper until you reach your taste preference.
-
Transfer to a bowl and serve.
-
Lightly sauté the minced garlic in a skillet with melted oil.
-
Chop and combine the tomatoes, onions, cilantro and pepper.
-
Add garlic, juice, and salt and pepper to taste. and mix.
-
Transfer to a bowl and serve.
- Leave out and dice up 1/3 of your tomatoes, cilantro, pepper and onions and mix into your finished salsa to add a little chunkiness.
- Leave out and process 1/3 of your tomatoes, cilantro, pepper and onions and mix into your pico de gallo for a more fluid consistency.
- Try roasting your quartered tomatoes, onions, garlic and pepper on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at 375 for approximately 10-15 minutes before moving them to your blender or processor to make salsa with a slightly different flavor.
- Definitely adjust the ingredient amounts as you determine your favorite ratios.
- Jalapeno and serrano peppers have a slightly different flavor, but we use them interchangeably dependent upon what we have.
- I recommend fresh ingredients whenever possible.
- I recommend organic, non-GMO. Check out your local farmers' market, Local Harvest for resources in your area, and/or the Environment Working Group for access to their Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists.
Heat or No Heat
I generally prefer serrano peppers, but I more commonly find jalapeno peppers at the farmers’ market when I don’t have any at home.
The heat in the jalapeño and serrano pepper comes from the plant oil, capsaicin. It is predominantly found in the white flesh inside the pepper and the seeds.
For this reason, be careful to protect any broken or sensitive skin, face and eyes, and other sensitive areas when preparing your pico or salsa. I usually try to avoid handling the peppers with unprotected hands, so I don’t have to worry about touching anything and ending up with a painful situation for me or anyone else.
If choosing to use jalapeño peppers, be aware you might end up with mild to no heat.
While I have yet to fully understand this, I have heard a few recommendations that are sometimes helpful when selecting jalapeño peppers:
- look for peppers with scars or whitish marks
- pick peppers that are mature and possibly starting to turn red
- ask about and select peppers grown under stress (full sun, low water, etc.)
I haven’t had the same problem with serrano peppers, which might be the main reason why I prefer using them over jalapeños. There is also a ever-so-slight flavor difference that I prefer too.
Additionally. You might perceive a bit more heat if you enjoy a second day of salsa after refrigerating overnight. I wouldn’t, however, recommend refrigerating your pico de gallo since the texture of your ingredients will begin to degrade.
Possibilities for Use
When the ingredients are in season, we enjoy making fresh salsa to top our tacos, salads, eggs or steaks. Its also a tasty ingredient for a dip, and we’ve also used it as a salad dressing.
I think enjoying either salsa or pico with chips and guacamole as an appetizer or as a topping combined with avocado slices to go with our grilled chicken (our dinner tonight) would probably be our favorite.
Check out my other posts that go great with either salsa or pico de gallo:
- Beef Tacos – oh so good with fresh salsa or pico de gallo on top!!!
- Sauteed Pepper and Onions – so delicious when combined with salsa on tacos, grilled chicken, fajitas and more!!
If you decide to try your hand at making this salsa and pico de gallo, definitely let me know which you prefer.
Like it? Then won’t you Pin It!
