Chef Isabel
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Mojo Picón Canario
Created by
Canarias makes its red mojo raw and fiery: dried peppers, garlic, cumin, guindilla, vinegar and olive oil pounded in a mortar to a rough sauce that grips every salt-wrinkled potato.
Sauces & Condiments
Spanish
Make Ahead
Outdoor Dining
Budget Friendly
45 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
YieldAbout 220ml (14 tablespoons)
Mojo picón is Canarian, a raw red sauce of dried pepper, garlic, cumin, chile, vinegar and olive oil. What separates it from the islands' mojo verde is not colour alone. The dried pepper gives it an earthy sweetness, the guindilla supplies the bite, and the cumin makes the bowl smell unmistakably of Canarias. Spoon it over papas arrugadas, the islands' salt-wrinkled potatoes, grilled fish or meat.
The mortar decides this one. Grind the cumin with coarse salt, crush in the garlic and guindilla, then pound the softened pepper until it becomes a rough red paste. Only then do the vinegar and oil go in. Pounding binds the ingredients without whipping air through them, so the mojo stays dark, coarse and able to grip a potato. A blender makes it smooth and orange. Edible, yes. The same sauce, no.
If pimienta palmera is beyond your reach, use dried ñoras with one guindilla. The result is sweeter and a little less earthy, but it keeps the proper balance of pepper, heat and vinegar. No hace falta haber pisado España. My notebook's margin says to add the oil in several turns, not one flood. Do that, give the sauce half an hour to settle, and it comes out.
Mojo belongs to Canarias, where red and green versions accompany papas arrugadas, fish, goat and grilled meats across the islands. Its name is linked to the Portuguese molho, meaning sauce, a trace of the archipelago's Atlantic connections, while chile peppers reached the Canarian larder from the Americas. On La Palma, the dried pimienta palmera became the defining pepper of the island's red mojos, pounded raw with garlic, cumin, vinegar and oil.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried pimientas palmeras
Quantity
15g (about 2 to 3)
stemmed and seeded
small dried red guindilla
Quantity
1 (about 0.5g)
stem removed, seeds kept
garlic cloves
Quantity
4 (about 16g)
peeled
cumin seeds
Quantity
1 teaspoon (2g)
coarse sea salt
Quantity
3/4 teaspoon (4g)
sweet unsmoked pimentón
Quantity
1 teaspoon (3g)
red wine vinegar
Quantity
40ml
mild extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
120ml
reserved pepper-soaking water
Quantity
30ml
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried pimientas palmerasstemmed and seeded | 15g (about 2 to 3) |
| small dried red guindillastem removed, seeds kept | 1 (about 0.5g) |
| garlic clovespeeled | 4 (about 16g) |
| cumin seeds | 1 teaspoon (2g) |
| coarse sea salt | 3/4 teaspoon (4g) |
| sweet unsmoked pimentón | 1 teaspoon (3g) |
| red wine vinegar | 40ml |
| mild extra virgin olive oil | 120ml |
| reserved pepper-soaking water | 30ml |
Equipment Needed
- •Rough stone or earthenware mortar, at least 15cm wide
- •Sturdy pestle
- •Small heatproof bowl
- •Fine measuring jug
Instructions
- 1
Soften the peppers
Put the stemmed and seeded pimientas palmeras in a small bowl and cover them with warm water. Leave them for 30 minutes, until the flesh bends easily and the skins have softened. Drain them, reserve 30ml of the soaking water, and blot the peppers so they do not carry excess water into the mojo.
No pimienta palmera where you live? Use 15g dried ñoras and keep the guindilla. Ñora is sweeter and milder, so the mojo loses a little of the island pepper's earthy bite, but the guindilla restores the heat. - 2
Build the mortar paste
Put the cumin seeds and coarse salt in a roomy mortar. Grind them until the cumin is fine and fragrant, then add the garlic and guindilla. Pound firmly, turning the pestle against the sides, until you have a damp, even paste with no large pieces of garlic.
- 3
Pound the red base
Tear in the softened peppers a little at a time and pound each addition into the garlic paste. Add the pimentón and keep working until the mixture is brick red, thick and slightly coarse. This texture matters. The mortar crushes the pepper into the garlic and cumin; a blender cuts and aerates it, leaving a paler, smoother sauce that slips off the potato.
- 4
Work in the liquids
Stir in the vinegar, then add the olive oil in four roughly equal additions, pounding and stirring until each one is taken up before adding the next. Work in the reserved 30ml soaking water last. The finished mojo should be glossy and spoonable, with fine pepper flecks and enough body to cling. Do not chase the stiffness of mayonnaise; a little oil gathering at the edge is proper.
- 5
Rest and adjust
Leave the mojo covered for 30 minutes so the raw garlic softens into the vinegar and the cumin settles through the oil. Stir, taste with a piece of potato or bread, and adjust only if needed. It should taste sharp first, warm with chile second, and rich with oil at the finish. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Chef Tips
- •Pimienta palmera is the pepper to seek. If you cannot find it, use the same weight of dried ñoras and keep the guindilla; ñoras bring sweetness and colour but less heat and earthy depth.
- •Use a mild, fruity extra virgin olive oil. A fiercely bitter oil fights the raw garlic and chile, and there is nowhere in an uncooked sauce for that bitterness to hide.
- •Pound this in a broad mortar, not a narrow spice mortar. You need room to work in the oil without sending it over the rim. Pésalo, no lo adivines, especially with the vinegar.
- •Serve mojo picón with papas arrugadas, grilled fish, rabbit or pork. Stir it before serving because a little separation is normal and no fault at all.
- •Keep raw garlic and oil mixtures refrigerated. Store the mojo in a clean covered jar for up to 5 days, and do not leave it sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the mojo at least 30 minutes ahead. Four to 24 hours in the refrigerator gives the garlic, cumin and pepper time to settle into one another.
- •Refrigerate in a clean covered jar for up to 5 days. Let it stand for 15 minutes before serving, then stir well because the olive oil thickens in the cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 16g)
Calories
75 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
115 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
0 g
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