Celery Rhubarb Pico de Gallo is a fresh spring Salsa bursting with flavours. It is tangy, sweet and has a slightly tart kick. Rhubarb adds to the sweetness as well as the sour taste to the salsa. While Celery adds its salty and earthy texture to the dish. All in all, one can enjoy this fresh Pico de Gallo as a side or simply with some nachos or chips.

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What is Pico De Gallo
Pico de gallo is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine and is also called salsa Fresca and salsa cruda. I call Pico De Gallo a fresh salad. Typically made using tomato, onion, peppers (Jalapenos/Habaneros) with the addition of fresh lime juice, cilantro and salt.
Difference between Pico De Gallo and Salsa
The main difference between Pico De Gallo and the typical salsa is Pico De Gallo is generally chopped, is fresh and consumed raw and has less liquid. Salsa simply means “Sauce” in Spanish. It can be made with either cooked or raw ingredients. It is generally cooked to improve the shelf life. As Pico de Gallo has less liquid it is at times used as the main ingredient in tacos and fajitas.
Though we are all aware of the typical tomato salsa, there are many variations to salsa and Pico de Gallo. Different type of Vegetables and fruits are mixed to get some unique and interesting flavours.

Today’s recipe
As with a few of my recipes, I have not planned this Celery Rhubarb Pico de Gallo. I got some fresh produce from my local farmer’s market. I picked up Rhubarb, Celery, Fresh green onions and fresh garlic.
Thought of grilling or roasting rhubarb and enjoying it as a dessert with Ice cream. But trying to be good and lose some, I thought of making a salad. Both Rhubarb and Celery are crunchy. Raw rhubarb has quite a tart taste and hence I thought of cooking it slightly. I simply blanched rhubarb and celery in a bit of hot water.
Then I used the typical ingredients used in any Pico de Gallo or salsa. I.e. I used onions, green garlic, tomatoes, Jalapeno, lime juice, salt and pepper. Instead of the red onions, I used scallions and fresh greens of onions. A little bit of sugar to balance the tart taste from Rhubarb.
All in all this Celery Rhubarb Pico de Gallo came quite well. The salad was bursting with fresh flavours. The salad was crunchy and sweet, but it had a slight tartness from the fresh veggies. Hence it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I love it and enjoyed it as my evening salad. It will go well with chips, nachos, fajitas, tacos etc.

Few more Raw Salad Recipes on the blog






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Celery Rhubarb Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Rhubarb Chopped into small pieces about 2-3 stalks
- ½ Cup Celery Chopped into small pieces around 1 stalk
- ¼ cup Sweet Pepper/Capsicum chopped
- 5-6 Cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 2 tablespoon Onions Chopped
- 2 tablespoon Onion Greens chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped/grated garlic
- 2 tablespoon Garlic Greens chopped
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Demerara Sugar/ Honey /Maple Syrup – Sweetener of your choice
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
- 1-2 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 3-4 Cups water to blanch
Instructions
- In a big pot boil water
- In the meantime chop the rhubarb into 1-2 cm pieces
- Chop the and celery similarly.
- Once the water has boiled, add the chopped rhubarb and celery.
- Cook for 2 minutes and switch off.
- Drain the water and run the rhubarb and celery in cold/tap water or immerse them in cold/tap water.
- Now in a big bowl, add chopped tomatoes, chopped Sweet Pepper/Capsicum, chopped onion, onion greens, garlic, garlic greens.
- Add in rhubarb, celery, lemon juice, sugar, salt, black pepper, parsley and mix everything.
- Serve it in a bowl, and sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper on top and garnish with parsley.
Notes
- Onions and garlic can be skipped if you do not eat.
- Cucumbers can be added or replaced
Linking this with
Sunday Funday
- 7 Layer Dip by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
- Celery Rhubarb Pico de Gallo by Cook with Renu
- Homemade Smooth Taco Sauce by Palatable Pastime
- Mile High Salsa Pie by Making Miracles
- Olive Oil-Poached Salmon Bellies with Cantaloupe-Preserved Lemon Salsa by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Pico de Gallo: Classic Fresh Tomato Salsa by Our Good Life
- Pico de Gallo / Fresh Mexican Salsa by Sneha’s Recipe
- Roasted Jalapeño Salsa by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Salsa Pebre Chileno by Food Lust People Love
- Three Bean Enchiladas with Corn Salsa by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Mayuri Patel
Friday 11th of June 2021
So colorful and tempting too. This celery rhubarb pico de Gallo recipe offers me the opportunity to try out rhubarb which I've not used as yet in my kitchen. I'm sure will get abundant of it in Canada :)
Janice
Wednesday 9th of June 2021
I love using rhubarb in savoury recipes. This is such a clever idea.
Azlin Bloor
Thursday 3rd of June 2021
Such a lovely version of pico de gallo, Renu. Adding rhubarb is a touch of genius!
Renu Agrawal Dongre
Thursday 3rd of June 2021
Thank you Azlin
Sneha
Tuesday 1st of June 2021
It looks delicious fresh and crunchy.
Rebekah Hills
Monday 31st of May 2021
This sounds wonderfully bright and fresh - I can imagine this in a tasty fish taco!