Memories Of Pico De Gallo.

A few years ago in San Juan Puerto Rico the hotel we were staying at before boarding our southern Caribbean cruise, had complimentary breakfast included in our room package. While most people take it easy and sleep in when they’re on vacation, my family and I are up and ready to go the first crack of light. Leaving temperatures in the -20 (Celsius) in Canada, every minute of sun and warm weather is appreciated. Before hitting the pool, we decided on having the breakfast as we knew from experience that the next time we would eat would be about 3 pm, after boarding the Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

That trip we visited 4 islands in total and the funny thing is, the thing that stood out the most for me was the pico de gallo salsa which was served with the egg omelets that morning. The freshness from the cilantro, tomato and onion, slight kick from the jalapeno peppers and that bright citrus from the fresh lime juice was just stunning. Where had this been all my life!

Since that day, I’ve been making pico de gallo and loving it…

Here’s What You’ll Need When Making Pico De Gallo:

2 tomatoes (deseed & chopped)
1/2 onion (diced)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (diced fine)
1 clove garlic (diced fine)
1/2 lemon (or lime)
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

* Traditionally when making pico de gallo jalapeno peppers are used. I love the heat from the scotch bonnet pepper, so I usually opt for this heat!

If you’re wondering what was the hotel which got me hooked on pico de gallo – Embassy Suites San Juan! Their Happy Hour is not too bad as well!