Pico de gallo (fresh Mexican salsa)
Pico de gallo (which means "rooster's beak" in Spanish) is Mexico's national fresh salsa: five ingredients chopped and not cooked.
For the blood pressure patient it is an excellent choice, because it is a full-flavored salsa with very little sodium, while most store salsas are high in salt.
Choose ripe, firm tomatoes and cut them into small, even cubes with a sharp knife without mashing. Pico is a chopped salad and not a blended sauce, and the clarity of the cubes is part of its well-known look.
Soak the chopped onion in cold water for five minutes, then drain it. The soaking breaks the sharpness of the raw onion and keeps its crunch.
Mix the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chili, and lime juice with only one gram of salt. These are the ingredients of the traditional Mexican recipe, and the little salt is enough because the generous lime juice completes the taste, which is why pico is among the lowest-sodium salsas.
Leave it half an hour in the fridge until the flavors blend, then serve it over grills, eggs, and fish, or as a dip with vegetables. It is very suitable for blood pressure patients because of its low sodium.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Pico de Gallo (Fresh Mexican Salsa), and how to fix them:
The tomatoes were soft or their soft seeds went in. Use firm tomatoes and scrape out the soft seeds, or drain it before serving.
It was not soaked. Soak it five minutes in cold water before adding it.
Too little lime juice or unripe tomatoes. Add more lime juice and choose ripe, in-season tomatoes.
The chili seeds went in. Scrape out the seeds before chopping for milder heat, or leave out the chili entirely.
Three days in a sealed container, and its taste is best in the first two days.
It is not frozen or cooked, as it is eaten fresh only.
With herb chicken, grilled fish, eggs, and roasted potatoes.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| The cilantro | Parsley | ~ | For those who don't like the taste of cilantro |
| Adding chopped mango or pineapple | The fruit pico version | 100 g | A well-known summer addition, and its sugar counts for diabetics |
| The lime | Lemon | ~ | Lime is more aromatic and lemon serves the purpose |
| Adding cubed avocado when serving | A version closer to guacamole | ~ | A popular creamy addition |
| Ingredient | 6 servings | 3 servings | 12 servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 400 g | 200 g | 800 g |
| Onion | 100 g | 50 g | 200 g |
| Lime | 30 ml | 15 ml | 60 ml |
When reducing salt in food, compensate the taste with acidity such as lime juice: the acid activates the taste receptors so the feeling of missing salt decreases, and this is an approved method in the DASH eating plan for lowering sodium. The sense of taste also adapts to less salt within about two weeks of commitment.
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