With tomato season upon us, I’ll be highlighting this super nutritious vegetable in a variety of ways, with some tips and tricks along the way. Today I’ve got a simply sweet Tomato-Mango Pico de Gallo recipe for you. If you’ve seen the term Pico de Gallo before, or ordered it at a restaurant without really knowing what it is, keep reading and I’ll explain.
The Cut and Dry Differences between Salsa and Pico de Gallo
Pico de Gallo is very similar to salsa, however, Pico de Gallo has a stricter definition than the more loosely defined salsa. While salsa is usually based on tomatoes (with the exception of salsa verde, or green salsa, which is based on tomatillos ““ a completely different plant than tomatoes, by the way), the tomatoes can be cooked (as in roasted, broiled, grilled, or sautéed), or chopped fresh when making salsa. Salsa can range in consistency from almost fully pureed, to looser and more chunky, and can either be drier (if you remove the seeds from the tomatoes and avoid adding a lot of additional liquid) or more wet (if you leave the seeds in the tomatoes and add more liquid, such as lime juice, when stirring everything together).
Pico de Gallo, on the other hand, most definitely refers to a chopped FRESH tomato mixture (true Pico never uses cooked tomatoes), one that is not blended and where the pieces are more loose, distinct and identifiable. Typically, Pico de Gallo is made with fresh tomatoes, chile peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and salt, however, variations abound, as is the case with this Tomato-Mango Pico de Gallo.
Bottom Line
Most Pico de Gallo can also be called salsa, but not all salsa can be referred to as Pico de Gallo. Are we crystal clear? Good ““ I know it’s so life-changing to know the difference between salsa and Pico de Gallo. Ha!
Tomato-Mango Pico de Gallo
Let’s finally get on to the actual recipe. Besides the traditional Pico de Gallo ingredients listed above, I’ve added mango to this Tomato-Mango Pico de Gallo (as you can probably tell from the recipe title!). I didn’t add the mango “just because”. I was making this Pico de Gallo to serve with fish tacos (which I will post the recipe for soon!), and the little bite of sweetness the mango adds goes so well with the seasoned fish in the tacos.
Besides serving with fish tacos, this Tomato-Mango Pico de Gallo can be eaten with tortilla chips (just like salsa), over a green salad in place of dressing (because all the veggies and the mango add enough flavor and juiciness, making dressing unnecessary), served on crostini (toasted, thin slices of baguette), or served over any other cooked, grilled or roasted meats or fish.
Enjoy, and check back soon for the fish taco recipe. Take a minute to subscribe to my blog (in the box at the right side of the page above my photo) so you won’t miss the recipe.
Tomato-Mango Pico de Gallo How-To Photos:
Use whatever variety of tomatoes you have or like to make this Pico de Gallo. Leave the seeds in…
or, take the seeds, out. It’s your choice, depending on how juicy you want your Pico to be. (I took them out for this Pico)
Chop the tomatoes
Add the rest of the chopped ingredients, followed by lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Give it a quick toss and it’s finished.
- 1 ¼ cup chopped fresh tomatoes (seeds removed, or not)*
- ½ cup chopped, peeled fresh mango
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- ½ medium fresh jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- In a medium bowl combine tomatoes, mango, onion, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, garlic, oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Toss gently to mix well. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 12 hours.
- Removing the seeds from the tomatoes will create a drier Pico de Gallo, while leaving the seeds in will create a Pico de Gallo with more juiciness. Either way is good – it’s up to your personal preference!
- 2 cups (4, ½-cup servings)
- 58 cals, 1 g pro, 7 g carb, 4 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g sat fat, 1 g fiber, 150 mg sodium
