Backyard barbecue season is here, so try giving your pico de gallo a new flavor by adding roasted chiles and tomatoes from the grill to the the salsa.
This version of pico de gallo is one that I grew up with, as my mom, Nani, and Tata loved to add roasted anaheim peppers to their chunky salsas. I wanted to take that a step further by incorporating roasted tomatoes and bell peppers to pico de gallo asada. I considered grilling the onion and garlic for this recipe, but I wanted to instead have a mixture of textures in the dish. I also added cilantro and epazote from my garden for a fresh herb flavor.
Pico de gallo asada goes great with everything, but especially carne asada. It’s the perfect salsa to make on a Sunday afternoon while grilling carne asada and elote in the backyard with friends and the Dodgers game on tv.
INGREDIENTS
2 Roma tomatoes
3 Anaheim peppers
1 Red bell pepper
1 white onion
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup cilantro leaves
3 epazote leaves (optional)
½ lime, juiced
1 ½ tsp mesquite salt (or regular salt)
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp dried Mexican Oregano
DIRECTIONS
Set the grill to high heat (approx. 400 degrees). While the grill is heating, clean the grill by taking half of the onion and with tongs and rub it over the bars of the grill. Discard that half of the onion when completed.
Next, place the peppers and tomatoes over the grill and close the lid. The peppers should be cooked for 10 minutes (turning every 2-3 minutes) until charred on all sides. The tomatoes should be cooked 15 minutes until charred on all sides (turning every 5 minutes). Once the chiles are done, transfer the peppers to a Ziploc bag and keep closed for five minutes to let the chiles sweat. After the chiles have finished sweating, take them out of the Ziploc bag and remove the skin, stems, and seeds from the peppers. Then cut the peppers into small bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.
After the tomatoes have finished grilling, place them on a cutting board and dice into small bite-sized pieces. Then transfer the diced tomatoes into the bowl. Next, cut the other half of the white onion as well as the garlic into small bite-sized pieces and add to the rest of the ingredients. Cut the cilantro and epazote leaves with shears into small pieces for the salsa. Next, take half of the lime and juice it into the salsa bowl. Add the remaining ingredients into the salsa and stir until well-combined before serving.
Sunday Salsa 
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