Pico de Gallo?

Pico de Gallo?
Originally uploaded by suebobdavis.

I got introduced to this dish when my friend Curt Humphrey worked at a silkscreen print shop with a bunch of Mexican guys, who ate it during breaks.

You simply take any type of ripe melon and sprinkle it with lemon or lime juice, chili powder and salt.

It is a happy warm-cool flavor combination that is as good in the middle of winter, thanks to imported fruit from south of the border, as it is on a hot summer day.

There is also a commercial product that pre-mixes the 3 flavors in a little shaker. The brand I have has a screaming rooster on the label and is called "Pikos Pikosos."

My online friend Cristina, who is from Mexico, insists that this is not proper Pico de Gallo. Real pico de gallo apparently has jicama and oranges in it with the same types of seasonings.

Nevertheless, I have heard Mexicans in the U.S. call this "Pico de Gallo," and my seasoning bottle says "Estilo Pico de Gallo" (pico de gallo style) on it, so that is what I am calling it.

Pico de Gallo means "Rooster beak," by the way. The phrase is also used to refer to a tomato salsa that is chopped in fairly big chunks, not ground in a mortar.