Grandma Dunbar's Mexican Salad (sort of Americano pico de gallo):
1 large bowl (or larger, if you're multiplying the recipe)
3 large tomatoes, fully ripe
2 medium-large white onions (not yellow, see note)
1-2 medium-large mild chiles (bells, Anaheims, anchos, etc.)
LOTS of salt
Tabasco or other hot sauce of choice
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2-3 TBSP well-chopped fresh cilantro
white or cider vinegar
Dice or fine chop all veggies (a food processor is OK, just don't overdo it!). Place in bowl. Add 2-5 TBSP (that is NOT a typo) of salt, according to your taste. Start with 2 -- you can always add more. Add black pepper, cilantro and 1 tsp hot sauce to the mix. Fill to covering with vinegar. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap (Grandma D used wax paper...but that was around the turn of the 20th century) and refrigerate at least overnight.
2 hrs before serving, taste the salad. If it seems to you that it needs more salt (it's supposed to be salty) or hot sauce, add what you like, stir well again, re-cover it, and replace in the fridge.
The extra or excess or whatever you want to call it salt actually adds some more "bite" to the dish.
This is a great garnish for veggies. My cousin Henry prefers putting the salad directly on a slice of turkey (INSTEAD, if you please, of gravy). I eat the salad straight or mixed with rice.
This recipe can be multiplied at will, without any harm to the flavour.
Eat it any way you like, and Happy T-Day!
Why not yellow? (No note)...
Oh this sounds really, really good, with all that salt and cilantro! Will have to try it. An aside, there is a similar to cilantro herb called PAPALO that cilantro lovers might like to check into.