There are very few recipes for Mexican salsa in my antique Mexican cookbooks
Finding a recipe for Salsa Macha is not easy. You might think that there are loads of salsa recipes in old Mexican cookbooks, but I can tell you that there are hardly any salsas to speak of. I have cookbooks going back to the year 1845. The few salsa recipes that they feature are French: Bechamel, Bernaise, and hundreds of entries under the name salsa blanca or white sauce, a basic roux.
Salsa Macha is Versatile and Delicious
All cook books from the turn of the century were written for the lady of the house, who was trying desperately to show how elegant and sophisticated she was. Raviolis, blanc-mange, fricasees and port wine jellies were proof of her good taste. Those were the recipes she wanted to know.
Dinner parties with tacos or caldo would have been too homely to ever consider. Save those meals for family night. Occasionally, these books will include a recipe for mole or enchiladas, especially the ones written after the 1930’s. But in the oldest Mexican cook books I have read or collected, they include precious few authentic Mexican salsa recipes.
I spent some time this week looking for an old recipe for Salsa Macha, but the best reference I could find was a recipe of Rick Bayless. Rick is an amazing chef, and when in doubt, he is the “go to” guy who has recorded Mexico’s recipes accurately, and has tailored them for the US household.
Inspired Salsa
But the one that inspired this post is my friend Iliana de la Vega, whose house made Salsa Macha is my favorite salsa ever. I don’t get to see her as often as I like, but her salsa macha that she sells at her restaurant, El Naranjo in Austin, Texas is one of the best around.
This is my version of salsa macha, but just know that if you are looking to cross reference with other chefs, look to the modern Mexican masters that are close by. They have got their salsa recipes down pat.
When you see the garlic and chiles frying like this, turn off the heat and allow them to gently toast as the olive oil cools
Add all of the chiles and garlic, and stir to toast evenly in the warm olive oil
Place all of the ingredients in the blender, and add the remaining cup of olive oil
The finished salsa should be this consistency
Salsa Macha
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 min
- Total Time: 7 minutes
- Yield: 144 servings 1x
- Category: Sauces
- Method: No Cooking Required
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
2 cups olive oil (480ml)
4 oz. dried chiles*, stems removed
5–6 cloves peeled garlic
1 tsp. sea salt (4gr)
¼ cup raw peanuts (30 gr)
1 tbsp. sesame seeds (10 gr)
1 tbsp. white vinegar (15 ml)
1 tbsp. brown sugar (12 gr)
Instructions
Heat one cup (240ml) of olive oil in a medium skillet, until the olive oil reaches approximately 300°-325°F (148°C-162°C). Add the garlic and chiles, which should fry softly if the olive oil is at the correct temperature. Add the peanuts and sesame seeds. Turn off the heat but allow the ingredients to fry as the pan cools down.
Stir the pan carefully to coat the chiles and garlic evenly with the olive oil, allowing them to brown evenly. Carefully remove the chiles and garlic to the container of a blender. Add the sea salt, vinegar, and brown sugar. Add the remaining cup of olive oil and blend the ingredients until the mixture is a paste, but not a puree.
The ground chiles may separate a bit from the olive oil. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Notes
I used dried chile de arbol (super spicy) for the salsa you see in the pic, but you can use other chiles such as dried pasilla (very mild), or dried chile chipotle (smoky & spicy), or dried chile ancho (very mild). You can even mix the chiles if you like. Just remove the top stem before your add them to the pan. Leave the seeds.
My husband would absolutely love this one. Plus, as always, a lovely post.
Hi hi! Thanks Kelly! My roomie really likes this salsa, but I am going to make a toned down version. Same proportions, but I’m going to use less killer chiles than chile de arbol. So dang hot! I hear dried smoked chipotle is a good one, and smoked chiles pasilla from Oaxaca, but those are as rare as hens teeth. We are eating the crazy hot version I made, just in smaller portions. Hope you and the kids are well, keep posting the cool pics of rust. I like old patinas too!
xoxo MG
Hello Melissa,
Great recipe!
Why do you split the oil and don’t use the oil you roasted in? Just because it was “dammaged” by heating?
Greatings,
Yvonne
Hey Yvonne! You could use the frying oil. But because you can’t really wash dried chiles before frying, I always think of the impurities that come off of the chiles and go into the frying oil. I could be wrong, but I feel like the frying oil cleans off any dust left from the farm. I start with fresh oil for the salsa, if that makes sense. I am not basing this on any scientific data, this is just my hunch. But yes, use it!
Hello!
Fellow Texan here; now in Utah. How long would this last in the fridge? A friend of mine gave me a similar chile that she made with vegetable oil, garlic, salt, and dried chile pods. She’s from Michoacán. She said her recipe lasts for a very long time. Like a year or more. I’ve made her recipe and I’ve had ours for almost 5 months. I just wanted to try a new recipe and found this one while snooping on your website.
¡Salud!
Hey Christine! I actually have a salsa macha that has been in the fridge for about a year. It is ok, but the flavor dies off just a little bit after 6 months. The oil has gotten a little funky and has picked up some fridge flavor. But it is still safe to eat. Usually if it is old, I will stir it into a guisado or soup. Or, you can make a tomato or avocado puree and mix it in there. The best flavor is when the salsa is about 7-10 days old. So flavor and food safety are two separate concerns. Old salsa macha is safe to eat but it may not be as delicious as when it was young. Hugs to you in Utah! Stay safe, un abrazo fuerte! MG