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Michoacán's Pátzcuaro table salsa for corundas, built from cooked jitomate, chile perón, garlic, and broth, then finished with crema and queso fresco.
Michoacán, especially the lake region around Pátzcuaro and the Meseta P'urhépecha, knows what to put over corundas. This salsa de tomate cocido is not a thin table salsa for chips. It is a warm red sauce meant to soak into triangular tamales of fresh corn masa, with crema running into the tomato and queso fresco softening at the edges.
The chile that belongs here is chile perón, also called chile manzano in some markets, but in Michoacán the perón from Uruapan and Pátzcuaro has its own floral, citrus bite. It is Capsicum pubescens, with black seeds and thick flesh. Do not treat it like serrano. If you substitute serrano, the sauce will still be food, but it will lose that Michoacán perfume. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
I learned this sauce from a señora near the Pátzcuaro market who cooked the jitomates until the skins split, then crushed them in a molcajete with garlic and chile. No drama. No tricks. The broth gives body, the manteca rounds the tomato, and the crema and queso make it belong to the corunda. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
Corundas are one of Michoacán's oldest P'urhépecha corn preparations, traditionally wrapped in long green corn leaves and folded into triangular or many-sided shapes before steaming. Tomato sauces served over corundas and uchepos reflect the colonial-era spread of domesticated jitomate into regional household cooking, but the technique of grinding chile, tomato, and garlic on volcanic stone continues older Mesoamerican practice. In 2010, UNESCO recognized Traditional Mexican Cuisine through the Michoacán paradigm, specifically valuing continuous practices such as nixtamalization, grinding, and cooking over leña in community kitchens.
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
Quantity
2
stemmed
Quantity
2
unpeeled
Quantity
1/4 medium
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
Quantity
1/2 cup
for serving
Quantity
1/2 cup
crumbled, for serving
Quantity
8
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe jitomate roma or saladette tomatoes | 1 1/2 pounds |
| fresh chile perónstemmed | 2 |
| garlic clovesunpeeled | 2 |
| white onion | 1/4 medium |
| manteca de cerdo | 1 tablespoon |
| warm chicken broth or pork broth | 1 cup |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| Mexican cremafor serving | 1/2 cup |
| queso frescocrumbled, for serving | 1/2 cup |
| warm corundas or ucheposfor serving | 8 |
Put the jitomates in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a steady simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the skins split and the flesh softens. Do not boil them to death. You want cooked tomato, not watery red pulp.
While the tomatoes cook, set the chile perón, garlic, and onion on a hot comal. Turn them until the chile skin blisters, the garlic softens inside its peel, and the onion shows dark spots at the edges. The chile perón has thick flesh, so give it time. Its perfume is part of the sauce.
Peel the garlic. In a molcajete, grind the garlic and salt first until they become a paste. Add the charred onion and chile perón and crush until broken down but not perfectly smooth. Add the cooked jitomates one by one, crushing them into a rough sauce. A molcajete gives you martajada texture. A blender works for a larger batch, but the salsa becomes smoother and less alive.
Melt the manteca de cerdo in a clay cazuela or heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato mixture carefully. It will sputter. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato darkens slightly and the fat shines at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. Oil will cook the sauce, but it will not give the same roundness.
Pour in the warm broth and stir well, scraping the bottom of the cazuela. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce is loose enough to spoon over corundas but not so thin that it runs off the plate. Taste for salt. The corundas are mild, so the salsa must speak clearly.
Spoon the hot salsa over warm corundas or uchepos. Finish each serving with Mexican crema and crumbled queso fresco. Serve in barro, not on a cold white restaurant plate. This is Pátzcuaro food, generous and direct. Así se hace y punto.
1 serving (about 230g)
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