Pico de Gallo

There is salsa from a jar, which serves its purpose, and then there is pico de gallo, which is something else entirely. The name translates literally as "rooster's beak," a phrase whose etymological origins remain murky but whose implications are clear enough: this is a salsa with bite. Unlike its cooked cousins, pico de gallo is aggressively fresh, made only minutes before eating, with ingredients so recently chopped that the tomatoes are still releasing their juices. The technique hinges on a small but crucial step that most recipes omit: salting and draining the tomatoes before assembly. A good ripe tomato is about 95% water, and if you skip the draining, that water will dilute your salsa into a thin, watery disappointment. Twenty minutes in a colander changes everything. The remaining tomato flesh concentrates in flavor and holds its shape, mixing with the onion and chile and cilantro without dissolving into soup. Everything else is simply a matter of knife work. The vegetables should be diced small enough to sit on a chip but large enough to maintain their individual textures. The lime juice goes in at the end, brightening everything without cooking the tomatoes. What you get is less a sauce and more a very finely chopped salad—and it's the best thing you'll ever put on tacos.