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About this recipe

✨

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Why you’ll love it

Blistered tomatoes, smoky morita chilies, charred garlic, fresh lime, and toasted sesame blend into a dark Mexican salsa with intense color, gentle sweetness, and a lingering chile kick. 🌶️

Ingredients

• Roasted base 🍅
• 🍅 650 g Roma tomatoes, halved (1.43 lb)
• 🧅 120 g white onion, cut into wedges (¾ cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🧄 20 g garlic, unpeeled (4 large cloves / 0.7 oz)
• 🫒 10 ml neutral oil (2 tsp / 0.35 fl oz)
• Morita chilies 🌶️
• 🌶️ 4 dried morita chilies, stemmed
• 💧 250 ml very hot water (1 cup / 8 fl oz)
• 🌿 ½ tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 🧂 ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• To finish ✨
• 🍋 25 ml fresh lime juice (1½ tbsp / 0.8 fl oz)
• 🌱 15 g toasted sesame seeds (1½ tbsp / 0.5 oz) sesame
• 🍯 ½ tsp agave syrup, optional
• 💧 30–90 ml chile soaking liquid, as needed (2–6 tbsp / 1–3 fl oz)
• For serving 🍽️
• 🌿 Fresh cilantro
• 🌶️ Thinly sliced morita or chile de árbol, optional
• 🍋 Lime wedges
• 🌮 Warm corn tortillas
• 🌽 Tortilla chips

Preparation

• 1 Prepare the morita chilies 🌶️ Remove the stems from the dried morita chilies. Shake out some of the loose seeds for moderate heat, or leave more seeds inside for a hotter salsa.
• 2 Toast the chilies 🔥 Heat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Toast the morita chilies for approximately 10 seconds per side until fragrant and slightly softened. Remove them immediately before they darken excessively.
• 3 Soften the chilies 💧 Place the toasted morita chilies in a small heatproof bowl and cover them with very hot water. Leave them for 10–15 minutes until soft and pliable. Reserve the soaking liquid.
• 4 Roast the tomatoes 🍅 Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomato halves cut-side down and cook until deeply blistered and dark in several places.
• 5 Char the onion and garlic 🧄 Add the onion wedges and unpeeled garlic to the skillet. Turn occasionally until the onion develops dark roasted edges and the garlic becomes soft inside its skin.
• 6 Toast the sesame 🌱 Place the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet and toast for approximately 1 minute, shaking frequently, until lightly golden and aromatic. Remove immediately.
• 7 Start the salsa ✨ Peel the roasted garlic and place it in a blender with the roasted tomatoes, onion, softened morita chilies, oregano, salt, and approximately 30 ml of the reserved chile soaking liquid.
• 8 Blend to a rustic texture 🌶️ Pulse several times, then blend briefly until the salsa becomes thick and cohesive but still retains a little texture. Do not turn it into a completely smooth puree.
• 9 Add lime and sesame 🍋 Add the lime juice and most of the toasted sesame seeds. Blend for only a few seconds so small sesame pieces remain visible throughout the salsa.
• 10 Adjust the consistency 💧 Add the reserved chile soaking liquid one tablespoon at a time until the salsa reaches a thick but spoonable consistency. Add the optional agave only if the tomatoes are especially acidic.
• 11 Rest and serve 🍽️ Allow the salsa to rest for 10 minutes so the smoky chile flavor settles into the roasted tomato base. Spoon into a dark ceramic bowl and finish with the reserved sesame seeds and optional cilantro. Serve with tacos, grilled meat, quesadillas, or tortilla chips.

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