Pico De Gallo – $.11

I really don’t like store-bought salsa. There, I said it. I think it’s crap. I’ve had maaaaybe one store-bought salsa in my life that I thought wasn’t too shabby. There are lots of different types of salsa but I’m going to show you how to make a super simple pico de gallo. You are welcome to make this recipe exactly the same plus putting it in a food processor if you prefer it less chunky and and more soupy, but it’s the exact same process up until then.

The picture above is the salsa topped with sour cream, served with boiled and baked jicama. To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the texture of the jicama when cooked this way, so I didn’t post this recipe. The recipe here is for about 4 servings, FYI.

Start by cutting up a tomato. Please listen to me: Use a sharp knife when cutting this tomato. I cannot STAND cutting tomatoes with dull knives! I dice a tomato similarly to how I dice an onion. Ask me if you don’t know how. The prettier the pieces, the better. You don’t want to serve ugly salsa, do you?

Now mince 1/2 jalapeno (per tomato). The smaller, the better.

Then finely dice an 1/4 onion (per tomato). Again, if you’d like to know some onion cutting techniques either ask me or Google it. Remember, sharp knife, and don’t cut on glass.

Your garlic is up to you, but I love my salsa pretty garlicky. So I FINELY chopped up about 2 cloves per tomato used.

Throw all of this in a bowl. Mmm…. Now add the juice from 1 lime (or 1/2 lime if yours is really juicy), a big handful of chopped cilantro, a big ol’ pinch of sea salt, and I prefer a little bit of cumin as well. If you prefer to add cayenne powder, chili powder, hot sauce, or black pepper, go for it. I try to keep mine really simple. And there ya’ have it! You can serve it immediately, or better yet, let it sit overnight.

1 Tomato – $.14
1/4 Onion – $.17
1/2 Jalapeno – $.08
1/2 Lime – $.05
4 Servings: $.44
1 Serving: $.11