ARCHIVE: Pico de Gallo with Grilled Tilapia and Shrimp

Archived. Originally posted on Homemaker's Who Work on 11/11/09, but recipe archived here in case that site goes down.

I've been on a pico de gallo kick all summer. I don't know why. I've been craving it week after week. When I'm eating it in some Mexican restaurant, I'm trying to figure out what is the special ingredient that gives it the flavor that I love so much? So it was just a matter of time before I made a batch myself!

The other night I decided to try my hand at some pico de gallo, and I decided that it would pair well with some grilled tilapia and shrimp. Nothing fancy! I kept things simple:

Pico de Gallo

1 sweet onion, chopped small
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
4 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
A few tbs of chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lime
Salt

• Chop onion into small pieces. You might want to go a little lighter on the onion, like 1/2-3/4 of an onion. I found a full onion to be a little too much.

• Slice a jalapeno in half, and remove the seeds (this is where the heat lies). You are smart to use gloves when preparing the jalapeno. Anyone who has worked with jalapenos, and then accidentally touched their nose or eye, even after having washed their hands, knows what I'm talking about! Then dice the jalapeno up small.
  

• Remove the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes, and chop them up.
  
  
• Take a bunch of cilantro, and chop it up into small pieces, until you have a few tablespoons of chopped cilantro.


• Mince up a clove of garlic (or just used the jarred kind. It works for me!)


• Mix all of the ingredients together.
  
  
• Squirt the juice of 1/2 lime over the mixture and season with salt.

I grilled up tilapia and shrimp, with just a little salt and pepper and a squirt of lime over it. Then I topped the fish and shrimp with pico de gallo.

The meal was very simple and fresh. Another drizzle of lime over the top of it.

Yum! I love the fresh taste, although there is still something missing. It still doesn't have quite the same flavor as the Mexican restaurants. But it is still very good, and very economical to boot! I think that I could probably serve this meal to four people for under $10 or so.

So do any of you have a great recipe for pico de gallo? Did you perhaps spot an important ingredient that I'm missing?