Pico de gallo made with tomato, onion, and cilantroLimes sometimes accompany the sauce
Pico de gallo (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈpikoðeˈɣaʝo], lit.'rooster's beak'), also called salsa fresca ('fresh sauce'), salsa bandera ('flag sauce'), and salsa cruda ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onion, and serrano peppers (jalapeñosorhabaneros may be used as alternatives), with salt, lime juice, and cilantro.
Pico de gallo can be used in much the same way as Mexican liquid salsas. Because it contains less liquid, it also can be used as a main ingredient in dishes such as tacos and fajitas.
The tomato-based variety is widely known as salsa picada ('minced/chopped sauce'). In Mexico it is normally called salsa mexicana ('Mexican sauce'). Because the colors of the red tomato, white onion, and green chili and cilantro are reminiscent of the colors of the Mexican flag, it is also called salsa bandera ('flag sauce').
In their book Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, Rick Bayless and Deann Groen speculate that the name might allude to the bird-feed–like texture and appearance of the mince.[2]
Many native residents of the Sonoran Mexico region explain that the salsa is thus named because the serrano pepper resembles a rooster's beak in shape.[3]
The Spanish picar means "to chop" or "to bite" (in the sense of a spicy chili having a "bite"); in the first person conjugation, picar becomes pico.[citation needed]
Pico de Gallo at the Wikibooks Cookbook subproject
