Salsa roja
25 min · 1 g protein · 24 cals / serving
The red salsa on every taqueria table: tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeños charred until blistered and blackened in spots, blended with a toasted dried ancho chile for a deep, smoky, slightly fruity heat, and finished with cilantro and lime. Pourable, bold and good on absolutely everything.
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium white onion, in thick slices
- 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 jalapeño, stems removed; seed them for a milder salsa
- 1 dried ancho chile ancho chiles, stem and seeds removed
- 1/4 cup water, hot
- a large handful fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 3/4 tsp salt
Steps
- Toast the ancho in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 20–30 seconds per side, until it smells smoky and softens (do not let it burn or it turns bitter). Tear it into pieces and soak it in the hot water.
- Heat the grill (broiler) to high. Spread the tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeños on a foil-lined tray and grill 10–12 minutes, turning once, until blistered and blackened in spots and the tomatoes are soft. Peel the garlic.
- Tip everything into a blender with the ancho and its soaking water, the cilantro, lime juice and salt. Pulse to a slightly chunky salsa or blend smooth, as you like it. Taste for salt and lime and let it cool before serving.
Good to know
How hot is it?
Medium with the jalapeño seeds out. Leave the seeds in, or add a dried chile de árbol with the ancho, for the fiery taqueria version.
Other dried chiles?
Guajillo is the classic in many salsas rojas and gives a brighter, tangier red; use two guajillos in place of the ancho if you can find them.
How long does it keep?
Five days in a jar in the fridge. It thickens a little as it chills; loosen it with a spoon of water.
Can't fill you up alone — pair it with protein.
Per
- Calories
- 30
- Protein
- (14%)
- 1 g
- Fat
- (16%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (70%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 245 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 193 kcal goes into the pot and 723 g of ingredients comes out as about 640 g of food: 30 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.