Salsa Macha Jarocha

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small heavy saucepan or clay cazuelita for frying
• •Slotted spoon
• •Blender or volcanic stone molcajete
• •Clean glass jar with tight lid

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the chiles

   Wipe the chile de árbol and chile morita with a dry cloth. Pull off the stems. Do not rinse them. Water in hot oil spits back at you, and wet chiles fry badly. Leave most of the seeds in because salsa macha jarocha should have bite, but shake out loose seeds if you want less fire.

2. 2

   Fry the garlic

   Pour the oil into a small heavy saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic while the oil is still warming. Fry gently, stirring often, until the slices turn pale gold at the edges, 4 to 6 minutes. Pull them out with a slotted spoon before they brown hard. Burned garlic makes the whole jar bitter.

3. 3

   Fry the peanuts

   Add the cacahuates to the same oil. Fry 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the skins darken and the nuts smell roasted. Keep the heat controlled. You want the peanut flavor to open into the oil, not scorch. Remove them to the bowl with the garlic.

4. 4

   Toast the ajonjolí

   Add the ajonjolí to the oil and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, just until golden. Sesame burns faster than pride in a bad cook. Take it out quickly and add it to the garlic and peanuts.

5. 5

   Fry the chiles

   Turn the heat to low. Add the chile de árbol and chile morita to the oil and stir for 20 to 30 seconds, no more. They should turn glossy and smell deep, not black. If they darken too much, start again. No me vengas con atajos. Burned chile cannot be repaired.

6. 6

   Cool and blend

   Take the pan off the heat and let the chile oil cool for 10 minutes. Put the fried garlic, cacahuates, ajonjolí, chiles, salt, piloncillo, and vinegar in a blender or molcajete. Add half the oil and pulse until the salsa is coarse, not smooth. Add the remaining oil and pulse once or twice. Salsa macha should have texture: chile flakes, bits of garlic, broken peanut, sesame suspended in the oil.

7. 7

   Jar and rest

   Spoon the salsa into a clean glass jar. Let it sit at least 2 hours before eating so the chile, garlic, peanut, and sesame settle into each other. Taste for salt after it rests. Serve by spooning the solids and oil together over black beans, grilled fish, eggs, plantains, or warm corn tortillas.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh dried chiles. They should bend a little and smell fruity, not dusty. If the chile de árbol breaks like dry paper and smells like cardboard, leave it at the stall.
• •This is oil, not lard. Manteca is the flavor in tamales and carnitas, yes. Here the oil keeps the salsa pourable in the jar and lets the fried chiles settle into a clear red layer. Use the right fat for the right dish.
• •Do not replace chile de árbol with guajillo. Guajillo gives sweetness and body, but it will not give the sharp fried heat that salsa macha needs. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Spoon from the bottom of the jar when serving. The good things settle: peanuts, sesame, garlic, chile flakes. Clear oil alone is not the salsa.
• •For grilled fish, add the salsa after the fish comes off the comal or grill. If you cook the finished salsa hard again, the garlic and sesame can turn bitter.

Advance Preparation

• •Salsa macha is better after 24 hours. The chile oil settles, the garlic softens, and the peanut and sesame give the jar its body.
• •Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Always use a clean spoon. Oil preserves, dirty spoons ruin.
• •Let the jar sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving if the oil thickens in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 16g)