Charred Tomato and Red Chilli Salsa Roja
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and NYT Cooking.
A smoky red table salsa of pan-blackened tomatoes, garlic and fresh chilli, pounded with toasted dried árbol chillies until thick and rustic.
Based on the listed ingredients, none of the 14 major EU allergens. Always check product labels.
Method
- 1
Toast the dried chillies. Set the dry frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the árbol chillies and keep them moving for 1-2 minutes, just until they darken and smell toasty; burnt chillies taste bitter. Lift them onto a plate to cool and turn crisp.
- 2
Blacken the vegetables. Put the garlic, onion wedge and fresh red chilli (and the extra one for serving) into the same hot pan, followed by the whole tomatoes. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning every few minutes, until the skins are blistered and blackened in patches and the tomatoes have collapsed and released juice. Take out the garlic after about 8 minutes, once soft, and the chillies once wrinkled.
- 3
Rest and peel. Tip the tomatoes and any juices into a bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Slip the garlic out of its skins. Pull the stem off the red chilli used in the salsa; keep the seeds for heat or scrape them out. Leave the tomato skins on, since the charred bits give the salsa its smoky flavour.
- 4
Make a paste. Crumble the toasted árbol chillies into the molcajete with the salt and grind to a coarse powder. Add the garlic and red chilli and pound into a rough paste, loosening with a spoonful of tomato juice if it sticks.
- 5
Mash the tomatoes. Add the onion and pound it in, then add the tomatoes a couple at a time, crushing and stirring until the salsa is thick and only slightly chunky. Stir in the oil and enough of the reserved juice to make it spoonable. Taste and add a pinch more salt if needed.
- 6
Serve. Serve warm or at room temperature straight from the molcajete, with lime wedges, tortilla chips and the extra charred chilli. It is also very good spooned over tacos, eggs and grilled meat.
Storage
Keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it come back to room temperature and check the salt before serving. Not suitable for freezing. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3.7 g protein per 100 kcal, about 15% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low fat: 1.4 g fat per 100 g (limit ≤ 3 g)
- Low saturated fat: 0.2 g saturated fat per 100 g, 3.3% of energy (limits ≤ 1.5 g and ≤ 10%)
- Low sugars: 4.5 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
- High fibre: 4.8 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 3 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 55 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- heavy cast-iron frying pan or comal
- tongs
- molcajete or large mortar and pestle
- plate
- bowl
- knife
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 27 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 4.9 g |
| of which sugars | 2.5 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 0.8 g |
| of which saturates | 0.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.3 g |
| Salt | 0.56 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.7 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
