Super Salsa.

I'm guessing lots of you had some sort of Mexican food yesterday....being that it was Superbowl Sunday after all. For some reason, we always end up serving it, even though I have aspirations to try something new. But let's face it, everyone likes digging into chips and salsa and guacamole while watching The Big Game, don't they? Also, icy cold beers and hopefully margaritas are in order.

I thought I would share my recipe for Pico de Gallo. Actually, it isn't my recipe. An old high school friend of B's taught it to me when I first met B and it has stuck ever since. There's nothing earth-shattering here, but the formula just works. There are times for salsas using special chiles or fancy ingredients, but this is an all-around crowd-pleaser. As B's friend told me, "The chips are really superfluous. They are simply a vehicle to shovel the salsa in your mouth." I like to think of this as a semi-healthy snack because of that fact. You really can eat a ton of it, and it's just a bunch of veggies. Oh, and best part? All supermarket ingredients. And you can use the ho-hum winter tomatoes right now because the flavors get perked up by a few little special additions.

Pico de Gallo

8-10 Roma tomatoes (you could use other tomatoes, but I like that Romas aren't very juicy), diced and seeded as best you can
1 large white onion, diced
2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced to a paste with a little salt
2 jalapenos, minced (use gloves!!)
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped (you cilantro haters out there could leave this out or sub in parsley)
juice and zest of several limes
1 T. sugar
sea salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
2-3 T. olive oil

Gently toss all the vegetables together. Sprinkle over the sugar, salt pepper, juice, zest and oil. Toss again. Let sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.