Chipotle, Peanut and Sesame Seed Salsa

Chipotle, Peanut and Sesame Seed Salsa
Melina Hammer for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
5(133)
Notes
Read community notes

This nutty, spicy salsa with the tang of vinegar is from Veracruz, Mexico, where it’s called salsa macha. It has long been a favorite of Pati Jinich, the Mexican-born chef who lives in Washington, D.C. Her version comes together fast, and offers a lot of character and versatility. Use it to liven up roasted vegetables or grilled meats. It’s especially great on lamb chops and skirt steak, or even baked potatoes served with sour cream and cheese. The salsa lasts for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator; the solids will sink to the bottom, leaving a deeply flavored oil that can add a little muscle to sauces or a finishing touch to other dishes. You can use other nuts in place of the peanuts, or a mix of nuts and sunflower or pumpkin seeds. —Kim Severson

Featured in: Forget the Wall: Pati Jinich Wants to Build a Culinary Bridge to Mexico

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
  • Print Options


Advertisement


Ingredients

Yield:About 3 cups
  • cups olive oil
  • ½cup raw unsalted peanuts (or use pecans, hazelnuts or walnuts)
  • 4garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2ounces dried chipotle chiles (1½ to 2 cups), stemmed and seeded
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
  • 1tablespoon brown sugar, or to taste
  • 3tablespoons distilled white vinegar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

152 calories; 16 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 53 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet until it is very hot but not smoking. Add the peanuts and garlic, then cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. The peanuts should just begin to turn color. Be careful to not let them scorch, which can happen quickly.

  2. Step 2

    Add the sesame seeds and chiles, and continue to stir and fry for a minute or until the chiles are lightly toasted.

  3. Step 3

    Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the contents, including all of the oil, to a food processor or blender. Add the salt, sugar and vinegar, and blend until almost smooth. (The salsa should be uniform but have a little texture to it.)

  4. Step 4

    Pour into a container and let cool. Refrigerate the salsa if you are not using it the day you make it.

Ratings

5 out of 5
133 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

The first time I made this, I took the pan off the burner, but, since the oil was so hot, it continued to cook the chiles and other ingredients, burning them slightly and leaving a bitter taste. It was still delicious. The second time, I had all the ingredients ready as well as a heatproof container to pour out the salsa immediately after I finished toasting. It turned out perfectly. I could put this salsa over everything!

This salsa was so complex and interesting. I spooned and basted this over roasting hasselback potatoes to great results as well as served with tortilla chips so far, but it inspires lots of uses. Word to the wise: wear gloves when seeding the chiles and also plan to spend quite some time accomplishing that task. Next time I make this I want to experiment with using canned chipotles instead of dried to see what that's like?

Superb over queso fundido. I would recommend halving this recipe... it still made a full jam jar (the kind with the red / white checked cap). Also, the whole thing goes very quickly, so it helps to have all the ingredients measured out in advance! No time to prep once things get going. Will be hard not to eat this on everything...

Peaches added. Decrease oil.

Phenomenal! Reminds me of Chinese-style chili crunch. Might have to experiment with some fish ion ideas with this sauce…

Wow this is good. I knew the recipe as written wouldn’t work for me so here’s how I changed it: Doubled the peanuts, which had their brown paper covers on them. Doubled the sesame seeds, filled in with pine nuts when I ran out. Used about 5 cloves of garlic. Store did not have dried chipotles, so, I used about 1/2 cup of canned, with seeds and stems removed. On medium, cooked the peanuts almost 3 minutes, they did not scorch. Doubled the salt and the sugar, kept the oil and vinegar the same.

Superb over queso fundido. I would recommend halving this recipe... it still made a full jam jar (the kind with the red / white checked cap). Also, the whole thing goes very quickly, so it helps to have all the ingredients measured out in advance! No time to prep once things get going. Will be hard not to eat this on everything...

I was daunted by the volume of oil here, so I used much less -- less than a quarter cup -- and at the grinding stage I added 1/4 cup passata and 1/4 cup water. I also used a canned chipotle chile, along with a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce in the can, instead of the dried chile. I can't comment on how the results compare to the recipe as written, but I can say that, starting with this recipe, it's possible to improvise, cutting down on the oil, and come up with something satisfying.

I love the flexibility of this recipe and wish I’d seen the note earlier about removing to a heatproof container so as to avoid burning. I used guajillo chiles and sunflower seeds and look forward to trying the original recipe, and coming up with new alternatives.

Made exactly as recipe is written and was amazing, especially second day. I didn't have the heart to tell family just how fattening it is as!

I’m curious what the experts think about subbing NM red Chile for chipotle peppers?

A must-have in our house. I always double the recipe and freeze some so we’re never without. I second the comment about using a vitamix vs. food processor, just be sure to vent the lid slightly before opening all the way so the steam doesn’t get ya. Enjoy!

Lip smacking and delicious. I always add twice the nuts, half peanuts and half hazelnuts of late, and also mix up the chilis. As Pati says, they enjoy each others’ company. Ancho chipotle and chipotle pasilla are both excellent.

Salsa Macha is amazing. I have been making a Rick Bayless version which has less vinegar and no sugar. But this one is great as well, and introduced me to this type. So delicious. I use almonds and peanuts. I also like to really puree it, I use my vitamix. I can't live without it.

This salsa is so unique and delicious. It’s almost chocolate-y. I added another small handful of hazelnuts in addition to a rounded half cup of peanuts (probability 1/3 c more nuts total than the recipe calls for) and used half ancho and half chipotle chilis. We had them on fish tacos tonight and have a ton leftover for countless other uses.

I will say that even when pulling out all the chipotle seeds, this is pretty spicy!

A little confused...you have to roasted the peanuts and garlic in 1.5 CUPS of olive oil in the beginning?

The first time I made this, I took the pan off the burner, but, since the oil was so hot, it continued to cook the chiles and other ingredients, burning them slightly and leaving a bitter taste. It was still delicious. The second time, I had all the ingredients ready as well as a heatproof container to pour out the salsa immediately after I finished toasting. It turned out perfectly. I could put this salsa over everything!

Private notes are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from "Mexican Today" by Pati Jinich (Rux Martin, 2016)

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.