A pickle that really surprises! This Fruta de Pico de Gallo (Spicy Fruit Salad) or “rooster’s beak” concoction blazes with sweet, sour, and spicy crunch. Pico de Gallo in Mexico is actually a refreshing salad of raw fruit. Cut produce into thick sticks; a great way to create finger food snacks. It’s also great as a breakfast fruit cup, a side to a sandwich, even a palate cleanser break during a multi-course meal. This recipe combines both fresh and dried fruits.
This recipe makes 1 quart.
– Recipe by Bill Hettig
Ingredients for Fruta de Pico de Gallo:
Buy under-ripe varieties of fruit; firm to the touch. I use dried fruits if fresh is not available. They plump up nicely.
- 8 ounces of jicama, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-inch thick wedges.
- 8 ounces of Asian or bosc pear, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-inch thick wedges.
- 2 ounces of dried mango or 8 ounces fresh, cut into 1/2 inch strips.
- 1 tablespoon of ancho chili powder, pasilla, or Korean chili flakes (gochugaru).
- 2 teaspoons of lime zest, fully minced.
- 1 tablespoon of Celtic Sea Salt or other premium brand for the brine.
Directions for Fruta de Pico de Gallo:
- Prepare the fruits and veggies as described above and combine in a large bowl.
- Mix in the lime zest and chili powder.
- Lay a clean, 1 quart jar on its side. Stack the sticks like cordwood inside. Stand jar up and pack any more sticks to tightly pack within 3 inches of the jar lip.
- Make a salt water brine solution. To do this, dissolve salt in filtered water at a ratio of 1 tablespoon of salt to 2 cups of water for this 1-quart batch.
- Fill your jar with this brine solution until about 1 inch from the jar lip.
- Use some sort of weighty object to hold the Fruta de Pico de Gallo under the brine solution. Be sure to place the jar in your sink as you do this as there is sure to be spillage. We sell our brine overflow cup as a weight here: Brine “Catch” Cup – Wide Mouth
- Remove the cup and wipe any debris on the lip of the cup and the jar, then put the cup back in. Install a Lid Gasket inside a Wide Mouth Fermenter Lid. Tighten the lid until its snug.
- Add tap water to a ClearView Airlock to the max line. Now gently insert the airlock into the hole of the fermenter lid until snug. Make sure not to push too deeply into the lid. As the fermentation happens, the water should move back and forth, and bubbles should move through the airlock, this is correct and indicates a tight seal.
- Write down the date you began fermentation on the lid using a Lid Marking Pen. After 4 days, check to see if the Fruta de Pico de Gallo is sour enough for you. If it is not, just add a day and re-check.
Enjoy your Fruta de Pico de Gallo! For even better and more delectable recipes, check out our Fermentation Recipe Booklet, where you will find many recipes, tips and tricks to brine pickling, and so much more!
