Salsa Macha
Put it in everything, especially chicken salad
Sara,
Those are some beautiful perfect summer blackberries! And I’ve been meaning to read Braiding Sweetgrass, thank you for bumping it higher on my list. A new take on Eton Mess is genius. I love the idea of subbing in blackberries (or another berry) for a usually strawberry based dessert.
A few weeks ago, I went over to our friend, Paxton’s, home with the goal of eating some very spicy food. Paxton prepped and was ready to go to make not one, but two, freshly made salsas! Both delicious but the salsa macha may now be one of my favorite foods.
Salsa Macha is one of the many Mexican salsas. This one is a smoky, crunchy oil of toasted savories, aromatics, and toasted up chiles of all kinds. Paxton used the amazing array of chiles he always has on hand. As with all perfect Paxton recipes, it’s loose and based on your taste. Level it to the spice you like, but don’t skimp on the savory textured ingredients (and bouillon!) that really make it. Here is my loose take on his beautiful creation:
Salsa Macha
Ingredients:
Chiles: The Chiles He Had on Hand - Pequin (Cliltepin), Puya, New Mexico Red, Dried Chipotle (not in Adobo) used raw, since they’re already smoked
Pepitas (we used shells on)
Garlic cloves
One corn tortilla
One packet of Chicken Boullion Powder
2 cups of neutral oil
Apple cider vinegar (tasty but also reduce botulism risk from garlic!)
Directions:
Heat oil in a small sauce pan. Toast the Pepitas and garlic cloves them until golden brown. Don’t burn them and keep a close eye, will be about 5 mins! Strain those bits out, with a small strainer or slotted spoon, and put into in a heat safe blender or a bowl until ready to blend. Next put in a tortilla cut into fourths until lightly browned. Then also strain out and turn the heat off.
Next in the still hot oil, toast up your chiles of choice. We use the ones above (from Paxton’s incredible selection) but there are some other suggestions online. Let the combination cool for about 10 minutes. Stir in a bit of the apple cider vinegar.
Pour the oil and chile mixture into a blender. If you haven’t yet, add in the toasted bits of garlic, pepitas, and tortillas. Lastly, add the packet of chicken bouillon powder (Paxton swears by it and he is so right, great salty umami addition!) Blend until combined but not too much. You still want some nice chunky bits. Store in an airtight tupperware but even better, a glass container like a sealed jar, for 3-4 weeks.
But as Paxton said, it won’t last in your fridge long enough to worry about going bad… he’s right. I’m running very low.
Uses:
Drizzle on everything
Fry your eggs in the oil
Cucumber salad (instead of chili crunch!)
My favorite: mix into chicken salad
More on that last one. It never occured to me to do it, but he mixed the salsa macha into chicken salad. The only other ingredients were a seasoned shredded up chicken breast and mayo. We put the combo on toasted tortillas and I added a whole bunch of cilantro. It was a creamy, spicy dream come true. Chicken salad without salsa macha will now always be lacking.
We have plans to cook again soon. And next on the list, Peanut Butter Salsa Macha from the Turkey & the Wolf cookbook. We missed you spicy queen! But also see you very very soon 🇫🇷
A running letter between long distance friends who love to eat
Do you miss your best friend? Are really hungry you right now? If the answer to either of these is yes, you know what to do.