Pico de Gallo

Method

1. dice10 min
   sharp knife, roughly 5 mm and even
   tomato + onion, and mince the chilli finer than both. Evenness is the whole texture of the dish — a ragged dice releases more juice from the large pieces and disappears in the small ones. Cut the tomato in half through the equator and flick the seed jelly out with a thumb; that jelly is most of the water
2. season10 min
   diced tomato in a sieve over a bowl
   the tomato with the salt and leave it to drain. Salt pulls water out of the cells by osmosis, which both concentrates the tomato flavour and removes the liquid that would otherwise pool in the bowl. Keep the drained juice — it is worth drinking or adding to a dressing
3. mix3 min
   large bowl, folded not stirred
   drained tomato + onion + chilli + cilantro + lime juice, turned over gently until evenly distributed. Cilantro added now rather than earlier keeps its edge — bruised early and dressed in acid, it goes flat and grassy
4. rest2 min
   room temperature, uncovered
   briefly, then taste and correct salt and lime. Cold blunts both acid and salt, so a pico seasoned straight from the refrigerator will taste under-seasoned at the table and over-seasoned once it warms