Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo. (not my photo)

Do a search for Pico de Gallo and it's likely you'll run across a lot of different recipes for this traditional Mexican condiment.  Many of them claim to be "authentic".  I don't care for the term "authentic" as it relates to food.  In my experience it often means the author has had a dish someone prepared in a way that didn't match up to their expectation.  I fully acknowledge the heritage of this condiment has Mexican roots... but what part of Mexico?  It's a diverse place and a cuisine with a HUGE range of preparations and ingredients.

A few weeks ago I was involved in the assembly of a casual backyard party and thought Pico de Gallo would be an easy side to serve with chips.  Like many people I felt I didn't have the time to pull something together from scratch.  Hoo boy was that a mistake!  I bought a tub from the deli section of my supermarket.  It had absolutely no flavor.  There is no reason on earth to rely on anything but your own taste buds and some fresh ingredients to made this easy condiment.  I like it on chips, grilled fish, and especially shrimp tacos!

Once consistent complaint I have on commercially available versions of this is they use WAY too much tomato and not enough onion and other goodies.  This is a simple dish using simple ingredients and takes about 10 minutes start to finish.  Below are a few tips, observations, and suggestions to get the most flavor possible.

Ingredients:

2 medium whole tomatoes (seeded and chopped fine)
1 medium red onion (chopped fine)
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced, or 2 serrano)
2 cloves garlic (smashed to a paste)
1 tsp olive oil 
1 lime (zest AND juice)
6 sprigs cilantro (leaves and stems minced)
to taste:
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

Method:

1.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit refrigerated for at least an hour or overnight.

Tips:

Use the best tomatoes you can afford.  I'm writing this in peak tomato season and my local farmers market is fantastic.  Many of the vendors have samples of their tomatoes cut up for tasting.  Today I opted for medium sized round beefsteaks on the vine.  The heirloom varieties were sweeter, but also much more expensive.  Off season, I would likely choose Romas.  Take the time to seed them.  The seeds and membranes can be bitter.

My first choice of onion is red.  They have a great bite and the added bonus of their purple color.  White would be my 2nd choice.  Yellow onions are fantastic too, but I prefer the bite of a red or white onion.  I like a ratio of about 1.5:2 tomato to onion by volume.

Peppers: In my research I found some recipes use jalapeno while some used serrano peppers. I have a high heat tolerance so if I were making this just for me I'd go with serranos.  If you are making for a mixed crowd consider opting for the milder jalapeno.

Garlic: I can't stand bottled minced garlic and always choose fresh for this.  It takes very little time to mince a clove of garlic and the flavor difference is huge.  Drizzle a little olive oil on the minced garlic and then using the side of a chefs knife scrape and flatten it into a paste.  I lean toward a variety that has a solid "stem" inside with a slight purple cast. 

Limes: Limes we get in North America often don't have intense flavor in the juice.  This is why I ALWAYS use the zest too.  The rind of the lime contains flavorful oils that adds a bold lime flavor to the mixture.

Salt: I know many people try to limit their salt, but it performs another function besides seasoning.  It helps draw the liquids out of all the other ingredients.  It's important!  Don't skip it.  You don't need much.  Start with a pinch and then adjust the seasoning right before service.

Cilantro:  Many in the culinary world may wince at using the stems.  In this dish I don't mind them.  If the stems are cut finely it adds an earthy tone to the floral finish of this herb.  Many people despise cilantro but without it Pico de Gallo seems flat.

Goulash ala Hops

Hello!  It's been far too long since I've made an installment.  Did you miss me?  I've been working on contract in Florida and I'm glad to return to Portland.  It's harvest time and time to play around in the kitchen!

Freshly harvested Cascade Hops

I consider myself an adventurous foodie and I'm always looking for new things to try in the kitchen. Hops are in season here in Oregon and a friend of mine raised a crop off from a first-year start obtained early this spring.  Aren't they pretty?

Hops are not what you think of as something to eat and are more commonly used as a bittering agent in the production of beer.  Since one of my favorite types of beer is an extremely hoppy IPA it got me thinking about how it might translate as a flavoring in food preparation.  I decided to experiment.  I'll tell you now that you DON'T want to eat one of these flowers raw.  They are indescribably bitter.  I did a couple experimental dishes and this is what I've learned.

My first experiment was a batch of chicken and dumplings.  I wanted something fairly simple to make tasting the hops easier.  I was worried they might get lost if I seasoned too heavily.  That was a mistake.  I added five or so hop buds to the stew as it simmered.  The dish picked up a distinct hop flavor - pleasant at first, but as the stew reduced the buds started to deteriorate and broke apart making them irretrievable.  Biting into one of these chunks was not pleasant.  That being said it did impart a nice flavor - bitter, but pleasant.  The leftovers were gross.  Hops sitting overnight in the dish made it inedible as the flavors melded and the bitterness increased.  Lesson learned - use it, but use moderation and remove them when you get what you want from them.  Much in the way Bay leaves are used in soup.  One interesting thing I noticed was the meat didn't pick up the bitterness the way the liquid components did.  In future experiments I'll experiment using them as a component for a brine.

This led me to get thinking more about the hop flavor and what I like to pair with a strong IPA.  Mexican and Indian cuisines were what first came to mind but my cupboard was bare for such dishes.  I had sweet paprika, chicken breasts, chicken stock, yellow onions, mushrooms, garlic, and celery.  A Goulash was born!  Apologies for not having a picture of the plated finished dish... it was so delicious we ate it all!

Ingredients:
~
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 large chicken breasts (trimmed and cut into 1" chunks
~
2 T olive oil
3 med yellow onions (sliced thin pole to pole)
3 T sweet paprika
2 fresh cascade hops
1/2 t ground cumin
1/8 t ground ginger
1/8 t ground cinnamon
6 large cremini mushrooms (cut in eighths - I prefer big chunks)
2 ribs celery (diced)
3-5 cloves garlic (sliced)
pinch salt
2 cups chicken stock

Method:

1.  In a large bowl combine flour, salt and black pepper.  Pat chicken chunks dry and add to bowl.  Toss chicken to coat all sides evenly with flour mixture.  Remove chicken from excess flour mixture and set aside.

2.  In a large saute pan heat oil over med-hi til a small piece of onion sizzles on contact.  Add remaining onion to pan and saute to coat onions evenly with oil.  Immediately add paprika, hops, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon, stirring to coat everything and mix the spices evenly.  Continue saute until onions begin to release their moistue and have had time to caramelize a bit.  You want the mixture to caramelize but not get too dry.  Add the mushrooms, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt.  Again, toss to coat everything evenly and return to heat.

3.  When the mushrooms begin to release their liquids, add the chicken stock.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer.  Add the floured chicken chunks and stir to coat.  Simmer gently for 10 min and remove the hops.  Continue to simmer until chicken is done and liquids have reduced to the desired consistency.  (Thicken with beurre-manie if needed).

This is great served over rice and paired with wilted greens.  Although this is chicken the paprika makes a nice pairing with a bold red wine.