Salsa Macha Recipe

The use of chili peppers in Mexican cuisine dates back to pre-Hispanic times, the emperors consumed cocoa infused with chili peppers and seeds. The use of chili peppers is so popular that there are more than 200 varieties of sauces in the country.

Salsa Macha's origin is disputed between Oaxaca and Veracruz, both states use chili peppers and roasted seeds mixed with vegetable oil, and its name comes from "macho", for being so spicy.

It is a very versatile sauce, used to accompany pozole, tacos, roast beef, seafood, quesadilla, or snacks.

This Salsa Macha recipe is doesn’t offer much heat, (which you can up heat it to your own taste) but it compensates with a delicious savoriness. Let's get started!

Ingredients

(Serves 2.5 cups)

• 2 ancho peppers

• 2 guajillo peppers

• 5 chile de arbol peppers

• 1/4 cup of peanuts

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 Tbsp of sesame seeds

• 2 cups of olive oil

• 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Remove the stems and seeds from the anchos, guajillos and chiles de arbol. Cut them into very small pieces, about 1/4 inch or smaller. Set aside.

2. Add the peanuts, garlic, sesame seeds, and oil in a medium pot or large saucepan.

3. Heat the pot to medium-high heat and cook until the garlic starts to crisp up and the seeds turn golden brown (approx 5 minutes).

4. Remove from heat and stir in the chili pepper bits. Allow cooling for 10 minutes

5. Stir in the vinegar, salt

6. Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor and pulse several times until the salsa is nicely combined. Don’t over-process the Salsa Macha.

7. Serve!

It is served with fish, meat, seafood, and Mexican snacks. Its intense and spicy flavor is highly valued in the cuisine of the south of the country. Where every state has its own version of Salsa Macha.

We are using ancho chiles, guajillos and, chile de Arbol peppers for this recipe, though you can use other dried chiles as well. Try it out with Morita peppers, chipotle peppers, or any other dried Mexican peppers.

For more recipes like this check Chillipepper Madness, here.

Enjoy and don't forget to take a picture and tag us on Instagram @clocfood

#clocfood #salsamacha