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Some recipes are carefully tested and written down.

Others happen because dinner is already on the table.

We were having tacos, but there was one problem: no real hot sauce. I wanted something smoky, something with a bit of heat, but not a sauce that would overpower everything else on the plate. Ideally, it would also be good enough to keep on the table afterward with a bowl of totopos.

That’s when having a molcajete nearby becomes dangerous.

One moment you’re looking for a sauce. The next you’re throwing garlic, peanuts, and a couple of morita chiles into the stone bowl to see what happens.

The result was exactly what I was looking for. Smoky from the morita chiles, nutty from the peanuts, creamy from the oil, and just spicy enough to keep things interesting without setting your mouth on fire.

One of the things I love about cooking with a molcajete is that it encourages improvisation. There’s no switch to turn on, no complicated equipment to clean afterward, and no pressure to follow a recipe exactly. You simply start grinding and see where the ingredients take you.

This salsa was never meant to become a recipe. It was just dinner. But after reaching for it again with a handful of totopos, I figured it deserved a place here on Sevy’s Daily.

Morita Salsa Sevy's Daily
Morita Salsa Sevy's Daily
Print Recipe

Sevy's Morita Salsa Macha

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Course: Sauce

Equipment

  • 1 Molcajete

Ingredients

  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 10 Peanuts
  • 2 Morita Chile
  • 50-100 ml Neutral Oil

Instructions

  • Peel the garlic cloves and place them in a molcajete.
  • Grind the garlic into a smooth paste.
  • Add the peanuts and continue grinding until finely crushed and incorporated into the garlic.
  • Add the morita chiles and grind until the mixture becomes fine and evenly distributed.
  • Begin adding the oil slowly, a little at a time, while continuing to grind and mix.
  • Allow the ingredients to absorb the oil before adding more.
  • Continue adding oil until the mixture reaches your desired consistency and no longer readily absorbs additional oil.
  • Taste and adjust consistency if needed.
  • Serve with tacos, grilled meats, or totopos.

Notes

The amount of oil depends on how dry the chiles are and how smooth you want the final salsa. For a thicker taco salsa use less oil. For a dipping sauce for totopos, add a little more.