Recipe: Pebre (Chilean Condiment)

And now for something completely different! I know this blog is called "Nothing But the Cards," so I hope you'll excuse a little detour. While pinning card ideas on Pinterest, I stumbled upon a recipe that I wanted to try, and I loved it so much I want to share it with you. But first a little back-story:

Last year, a friend was trying to prepare for his blood work and physical required by his health insurance. He works for the company, and would receive perks if his "numbers" (cholesterol, triglycerides, et al) were good. He decided to go vegan to prepare but wanted a support system, so he challenged me to go vegan with him for a month. I accepted his challenge, and did great for the first week, but then my family ended up at Chili's, of all places!, to eat. I asked the waiter what my vegan options were, and we ended up with just a few: a salad (no cheese!), rice, black beans and steamed broccoli. The black beans were served with a spoonful of pico de gallo on top, and let me tell you, they were the most delicious black beans I've ever had! And while my term as a vegan only lasted 2.5 months (yes, I met the one month challenge and then some, while my friend dropped out after about 4 days!), from that point on I order pico de gallo with my rice and beans whenever we eat Mexican.

So when I saw this recipe for the Chilean version of pico de gallo, I was anxious to try it -- especially because I had most of the ingredients already and it looked very easy to make. Here is a link to the original recipe that I pinned: https://www.lafujimama.com/chilean-pebre/

Recipe: Pebre

Ingredients:

6 scallions, finely chopped
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 small bunch cilantro, finely chopped
3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 T. red wine vinegar
1½ T. sriracha or spicy chili sauce
½ T. olive oil
½ T. crushed red pepper flakes
½ t. finely ground sea salt
water

Mix all ingredients except water in a medium sized bowl.

Add just enough cold water to barely cover everything, then refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Judging by comments left with the original recipe, pebre can be enjoyed with just about anything! (Toast was a popular choice, a la bruschetta, I suppose.) My kids immediately dove into it with corn chips, but I spooned some over the top of a bowl of Spanish rice, and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten!

The recipe DOES say that it's best enjoyed the same day it's prepared, and that was no problem in our house, as the 3 cup yield was DEVOURED immediately. In fact, I think my son drank the remaining "juice" left behind after scooping out the vegetables, though truth be told, if he hadn't, I would have!

If you try it, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did! If so, leave a comment and let me know how YOU ate it.