Molcajete Salsa

Some of the most exciting cookbooks I bought over the past year are focused on Mexican cuisines, and I’ve been cooking up a storm of tamales, tacos, stews and soups. One of the most fun aspects of exploring the traditional foods of Mexico has been learning about the flavorful salsas (aka sauces) that give the country’s regional foods so much depth and complexity. A new favorite of mine is molcajete salsa from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, which has a smoky flavor that comes from lightly charred vegetables.

This richly flavored salsa can be used as a dip, condiment or spread, and can be substituted for store-bought salsa in almost any instance.

What is a molcajete?

A molcajete is an ancient type of mortar made of basalt, a course-textured volcanic rock. It is used along with a tejolote (pestle) for grinding or crushing ingredients. Together, they are one of our favorite Mexican cooking tools.

If you’re buying a molcajete, try to find one made by an artisan from Mexico (I ordered mine from Masienda), as molcajetes from large suppliers can sometimes be made of cement instead of basalt. The mortar should be rough in texture and free of cracks. Make sure you buy one that’s enough to make a nice, substantial batch of salsa

Once you have a molcajete, you can use it in place of a regular mortar and pestle for recipes from anywhere in the world. It’s great for making guacamole, grinding raw or toasted spices, crushing garlic, and blending ingredients into salsa macha, which is like the Mexican equivalent of chili crisp.

Molcajete Salsa Ingredients

• Tomatoes: Seek out the most flavorful types of tomatoes for the best end result. In winter, I like to use vine-ripened tomatoes for salsa, and since they’re usually small, I’ll simply use more of them. In summer, see if you can find fresh tomatoes from local farms.
• Onion: A white or yellow onion is perfect for molcajete salsa. Use a red onion if neither of the other types is available.
• Spicy peppers: Both the serrano and jalapeno used in this recipe have their seeds removed, which eliminates some of their heat. Make sure to remove the soft white membrane as well, since it’s filled with spicy capsaicin. When you’re prepping hot peppers for cooking, consider wearing gloves to prevent your hands from carrying the burn after you’re done. Finally, if you can’t tolerate heat, use a sweet bell pepper instead.
• Garlic: Choose nice fat cloves of garlic for this recipe, as they’ll hold up better to broiling.
• Cilantro: Cilantro, which comes from the leaves of the plant that also gives us coriander, brings a burst of fresh flavor to this cooked salsa. If you think cilantro tastes like soap, just leave it out.
• Salt: Not only does salt add flavor to this recipe, its coarse crystals also help the molcajete do its job of grinding up the ingredients.

Directions

Step 1: Broil the vegetables

TASTE OF HOME

Preheat your broiler. Place the quartered tomatoes, roughly chopped onion, peeled garlic cloves, and halved serrano and jalapeno peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil them 3 to 4 inches from the heat until the skins of the peppers and tomatoes begin to blacken, four to five minutes. Turn the ingredients and cook them for three to four minutes longer. Let them cool.

Editor’s Tip: Garlic is the most delicate vegetable ingredient in this recipe and is most prone to burning. Since all ovens work differently, keep an eye on your garlic cloves and remove them from the pan if they start to char or smell bitter.

Step 2: Make the salsa

TASTE OF HOME

Working in batches in your molcajete, grind the tomatoes, onion, serrano, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro until they are chunky. Sprinkle each batch with a portion of salt while grinding. Transfer the salsa to a large bowl and stir to combine.

TASTE OF HOME

Molcajete Salsa Variations

• Add some zing: This recipe doesn’t call for any acidic ingredients besides the tomatoes, but it can definitely benefit from additional tang. Try squeezing in some fresh lime juice or adding a splash of cider vinegar or pineapple vinegar.
• Make it green: Use tomatillos instead of tomatoes to make a traditional green salsa. Three large tomatoes will weigh around a pound, so start with a pound of tomatillos.
• Include spices: Depending on how you’re using it, you could add other Mexican ingredients to your salsa. Consider mixing in ground coriander, Mexican oregano, toasted cumin seeds, a smoky dried and powdered chile, lime zest or a hint of allspice.

How to Store Molcajete Salsa

Your salsa molcajete should be stored in the refrigerator in glass jars or tight-lidded storage containers. Try to avoid plastic containers, as the strong aromas of onion and garlic will most likely linger.

How long does molcajete salsa last?

Aim to use up your roasted veggie salsa within four days. If you’ve already eaten enough tortilla chips, here are some of our favorite ways to use up a jar of salsa.

Molcajete Salsa Tips

Do you need to roast the vegetables for molcajete salsa?

Roasting or broiling the vegetables is an important step in this traditional Mexican salsa recipe. However, you could choose to char the vegetables in a hot pan on the stovetop. If you can’t cook the onions, peppers and tomatoes, you could make a raw pico de gallo in your molcajete instead.

Do you need a molcajete to make salsa?

Grinding the ingredients rather than chopping them does change the flavor, but there are plenty of other ways to make wonderful homemade salsa. You could use a mortar and pestle that aren’t made of volcanic stone. Try chopping the tomatoes and onions and mincing the hot peppers and garlic by hand, or you could simply let a food processor do the work for you.

What can you serve with molcajete salsa?

What can’t you serve with molcajete salsa? This salsa is great as part of our best taco recipes, in meat or bean burritos and on quesadillas. It’s also an ideal chip dip. What else? This salsa can be used as a sauce with roasted meats, as a piquant garnish for egg dishes, or mixed into ground beef and turned into burgers or meatloaf.