Avocado Pico De Gallo

Avocados. Everybody loves this fruit. There I said it. Avocados are actually fruits as are tomatoes. When I was growing up, we always had avocados in tacos along with pico de gallo. When you were a kid though, pico de gallo wasn't something that I had in my tacos (something about raw onions that I didn't like). Now years later, I have found that I do appreciate pico, but not too terribly hot.

 

Recently, MC's mom showed me her pico with black beans. I have to say that it was damn good. She also added avocado to it and I thought that was rather nifty. I had a soiree to put together and realized that this would be a crowd pleaser (minus the black beans). By the time the day was over, the bowl was empty and I had no avocado pico left. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

6-8 roma tomatoes
2 large avocados
1 large red onion
3-4 large jalapeño peppers
1 tbsp garlic
1 large lemon
1 large lime
salt and pepper to taste
2 handfuls of coursely chopped cilantro

Start by chopping the tomatoes. Scoop out the seeds and pulp of the tomatoes. Dice the meat of the fruit and place into a large bowl.

Coarsely shop the red onion. Place the onion with the tomatoes that you just cut up.

Dice up the jalapeños. Notice that I am leaving out the seeds of the peppers. Also, try to cut out the veins as the peppers' veins carry some heat. Now if I had some people that like their heat, then I would have left some of the seed and vein on the peppers.

 

Add the coarsely chopped cilantro.Mix the rest of the veggies. Add the garlic, salt and pepper.

 

 

Cut the lime and lemon and add the juice to the mixture. Start to dice up the avocados. Notice that when you cut into an avocado, it should feel somewhat firm, but still soft. Once you have diced them, add to to bowl and mix together.

Taste and see if it needs more salt and pepper. The best way to know this is by trying it with some tortilla chips. You don't want to have too much salt since you are having enough salt with the chips. 

You can make this ahead of time and allow everything to meld together overnight. Don't worry, if you put enough lime/lemon juice the avocados won't turn brown. You can add a can of corn and black beans for a little variety. Believe me when I say that every time I make this, its gone! Try making this and enjoy it as a nice appetizer or for your next Mexican inspired meal!