A simple, smoky Yucatecan tomato sauce made with roasted tomatoes, habanero pepper, white onion, fresh cilantro, and salt. It is traditionally served with eggs, tortillas, grilled meats, or beans.
Ingredients
- 6 pieces very ripe round tomatoes
- 1 piece fresh habanero pepper
- 1 piece fresh white onion
- 0.5 bunches fresh cilantro
- to taste fine salt
Method
- Heat a cast-iron skillet, griddle, or comal over high heat until the surface is very hot and a drop of water sizzles immediately.
- Place the whole tomatoes on the hot surface. Roast them, turning regularly, until the skins blacken in places, blister, and the flesh becomes soft under pressure. The juices may begin to bead, which is the right sign.
- Add the habanero to the same hot surface. Roast it more briefly than the tomatoes, turning it often, until the skin is speckled and fragrant. Do not let it burn completely, or bitterness will dominate.
- Remove the tomatoes and pepper. Let them cool just enough to handle safely. Remove only any overly charred parts if they taste bitter; keep the speckled roasted skin, which provides the authentic flavor.
- Remove the pepper stem. For a traditionally hot sauce, keep the pepper whole. For a milder result, slit it open and remove some of the seeds with the tip of a knife.
- Crush the tomatoes in a molcajete if possible, or in a wide mortar. Work in short presses rather than aiming for a perfectly smooth purée: chiltomate should remain rustic, juicy, and slightly textured.
- Crush the pepper into the tomatoes until its heat is evenly distributed. Taste carefully before adding more if you are using a very hot pepper.
- Peel and finely chop the white onion. Pick the cilantro leaves and chop them. Add the onion and cilantro to the crushed sauce, then mix without completely crushing these fresh elements.
- Gradually add salt, mix, and let the sauce rest at room temperature for a few minutes. It is ready when the tomato juice is deep red, lightly smoky, spicy, and properly salted, with the onion still crisp.
- Serve at room temperature, never chilled, with warm tortillas, eggs, black beans, grilled chicken, or roast pork.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 17.8 kcal
- Protein
- 0.65 g
- Carbohydrate
- 2.35 g
- Fat
- 0.49 g
- Fibre
- 1.18 g
- Calcium
- 2.1 mg
- Iron
- 0.04 mg
- Magnesium
- 1.25 mg
