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Watermelon and Mango Pico de Gallo

Latin American · 20 min · Easy · 6 servings

Watermelon and Mango Pico de Gallo

Watermelon and mango cut small and salted early so they give up their water in a colander rather than in the bowl, then tossed with red onion, chili, lime and cilantro. Sweet, sharp and hot at once, and it stays a salsa instead of collapsing into juice.

~80 cal per serving — Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.

gluten-freenut-freesoy-freeoil-freelow-caloriegrain-free
Plan it:

Method

  1. 1

    Salt the fruit and let it drain

    ⏱ 15 min

    Cut the watermelon and mango into dice about the size of your little fingernail and put them in a colander set over a bowl. Salt them well and leave them alone. This is the whole recipe: salt pulls the water out now, into the bowl, instead of later, into your salsa.

  2. 2

    Soften the onion

    ⏱ 15 min

    While the fruit drains, put the chopped red onion in a small bowl with the lime juice. Fifteen minutes in acid takes the raw burn out of it and turns the edges faintly pink, so it seasons the salsa rather than fighting it.

  3. 3

    Toss it together

    Tip the drained fruit into a bowl, discarding the liquid or saving it for a drink. Add the onion with its lime, the minced chili and the chopped herbs, and turn everything over gently with your hands so the fruit keeps its shape.

  4. 4

    Taste and rest

    ⏱ 10 min

    Taste it and adjust: more lime if it reads flat, more salt if the fruit tastes only sweet, more chili if it is polite. Let it sit for ten minutes before serving so the flavors meet, and serve it with a slotted spoon.

Notes

Salting and draining is what separates this from the versions that turn to soup in twenty minutes. Do not skip it, and do not salt again at the end without tasting. It is best within a few hours and does not keep overnight, because the fruit keeps giving up water however well you drained it.

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