Matt and I love tacos. It’s the build it yourself, layer it up, any combination goes nature of them that does it for us. There are some toppings that I’ll happily buy ready made, but we’ll talk about that more later in the week. My holy trinity however, are really simple and tasty but must be made fresh.
Mango Pico de Gallo | Salsa Fresca | Guacamole
Let’s work left to right. First up, the fresh, hot and tangy mango pico de gallo.
You’ll need to combine the following:
Next up, pico de gallo or salsa fresca
Mix up the following:
Tomatoes, finely diced, Half a red onion, finely diced 1 chilli, finely diced Handful of coriander, finely chopped Juice of half a lime Plenty of salt and black pepperAs an optional extra, I like to add a little liquid smoke to my pico de gallo. If you like smokey flavours I recommend picking up a bottle from Amazon. It shows off well in chilli con carne, rib marinades, pulled pork and baked beans too. Just make sure you check you’re buying the natural stuff rather than flavouring and go easy with it. One or two drops is enough.
Finally, of course no taco would be complete without guacamole. I like to keep mine basic given everything else going on in the picos, but diced tomatoes and chilli are welcome in here too.
For the guacamole you’ll need:
2 Ripe avocados, roughly diced Half a red onion, finely diced Handful of coriander, finely chopped Plenty of salt Juice of half a limeNow wait a minute, you’ve probably heard that you should bury the stone from the avocado and that will keep it from browning. Well, let’s talk about that…
In part, it’s right, burying the stone in the guacamole will help it fare better than if it was just left. BUT the only reason it helps at all is because it stops oxygen from getting in to contact with some of the avocado, so the bit touching the stone doesn’t brown. If we’re being sensible about this, using cling film pressed down to seal the entire surface of the guacamole will do a much better job at keeping the oxygen out. We’re putting lime juice in there too for a reason, the vitamin C is a natural preservative, and the acidity works against the avocados natural ripening enzyme which prefers an alkaline environment. So yes, there’s the geekery, stick with me and your guacamole will remain green.
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Left overs? All three will sit happily in the fridge for up to two days, so long as you cover them with cling film. Remember what I said about the cling film on the guacamole? Make sure it’s touching the surface!
I like to serve the toppings up for lunch alongside some lime and black pepper tortilla chips, they go down a storm. Otherwise, grab a bag of nachos, layer up with cheese in an oven proof dish and bake at 170 degrees Celsius for around 10 minutes, throw the holy trinity on top and dig in. They’re perfect to share whilst you’re snuggled up watching a film.
LoveLyndaLovely says
Yum! You ever have leftovers???
Callie (@CallieThorpe) says
Mmmmmmmm I LOVE tacos!! That all looks so bright and tasty!