Pico de gallo de frutas

After I graduated from college, I moved to Houston and became a bilingual teacher.  I had the most amazing group of students, and was lucky enough to be their teacher for three years in a row: kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.  We spoke Spanish almost all day, except for an hour or so of ESL.  Their kindergarten year was my first year of teaching, as well as my first year living far away from home.  While those things made it a difficult year for me, my kids and their families were absolutely fabulous.  A lot of people may say this, but I truly think I could not have asked for a better group of students.  They worked as a team almost from the beginning–embracing me, each other, and all the new students that trickled in (and sometimes out, and sometimes back again) over the course of our three years together.  They were unbelievably kind, patient, tolerant, bright, and hilarious.

Several of my students’ mothers used to bring me delicious food.  At one point, I lost a decent amount of weight, which I was thrilled about.  They were concerned, and started bringing even more food: gorditas, mole, arroz con leche, and one day, pico de gallo de frutas.  The mother who brought it told me that this spicy fruit salad–not the ubiquitous fresh salsa served in Mexican restaurants across the U.S–, is the real pico de gallo.  The version she brought me had pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, and big chunks of fresh coconut, and was dressed with lime juice, chile powder, and salt.

I went home and immediately tried to make some pico de gallo de frutas myself, with disappointing results–something was wrong with the chile.  I mentioned it to my student’s mother, and she then brought me a huge amount of powdered chile in an unlabeled plastic container so that I could make my own pico de gallo.  It wasn’t until several years later–last week, actually–that I realized the mistake I had made: I was using chili powder, a common spice blend that contains garlic, salt, cumin, and oregano, instead of pure powdered chile.

The week before Cinco de mayo seemed like the perfect time to recreate this salad for the blog.  You can use almost any kind of fruit: papaya, mango, canteloupe, pineapple, watermelon, cucumber, coconut, or whatever you like.  I chose kiwi, jicama, and strawberry so I could make the salad match the colors of the Mexican flag.  Kiwi may not be the most authentic choice, but it is definitely delicious.  You could also use unpeeled cucumbers or Granny Smith apples if you’re looking for a different green fruit.  Enjoy!