Easy Pico De Gallo

And Introducing: the Chiltepin Pepper!

Got chips? Got guacamole? Now you just need some pico de gallo to enhance your fajitas, grilled fish, cooked eggs, or whatever it is you like. Pico de gallo, or pico, as we like to call it in Texas, literally means, "beak of the rooster." Why would a mixture of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and chili peppers have anything to do with a rooster? Well, a rooster's beak is pretty sharp and would hurt if it poked someone. Similarly, the spiciness of the pico will "poke" the eater's taste buds.

While the standard peppers used in pico are usually jalapenos or serranos, my family prefers to use a different kind of pepper: meet the chiltepin pepper. The chltepin grows wild in northern Mexico and south Texas. As a child, we would walk the fences of our ranch and pick these prized peppers right off of the bushes. The bushes grow along fences because they are a favorite food of birds (and you know what birds do when they sit on fences).

Chiltepin peppers burn extremely hot (50,000-100,000 Scoville units), but the heat does not last long. The flavor of these little peppers tastes amazing: they taste fruity (like citrus, almost) and fresh. Chiltepin peppers can take some getting used to because of their heat, but they are highly addictive! My father carries them around in his shirt pocket and adds them to just about every food.

These small peppers can be found at many large grocery or specialty stores. If your city has a large Latino population with fresh food markets, then chances are high that these peppers will be there. You will only need about ten fresh peppers for this recipe, or you can buy more and place them in the freezer. Like other peppers, they come in green and red varieties. The red ones are hotter, but the green ones work just fine. Here is a word of caution: these peppers look very appealing to young children because of their bright color and small size. They look like candy but are far from it! Keep them stored out of sight!

If you cannot find chiltepins, then you can always substitute jalapenos or serranos in the pico.