Mexican
Salsa Lizano
This is the customary sauce that is used in Gallo Pinto, the traditional dish of Costa Rica. I had to make this myself, as it was unavailable at the stores. Luckily, there was a Mexican store that imports the peppers here locally, as they are a bloody fortune online.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 min |
| Servings |
cups
|
- 6 Guajillo peppers dried
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 onion
- 1 carrot medium size
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp molasses 15g
- 2 tsp vegetable broth powder 1 cube
Ingredients
|
|
- If the peppers are quite dry, put them in a steamer for 1 minute, just to soften.
- Then remove the top, cut down the side, and discard the seeds and fibrous connective tissues. Retain some seeds and add for extra heat.
- In a stainless steel skillet, toast the peppers on medium heat for about a few minutes.
- Add water, lower the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, and add the sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, ground cumin, salt, molasses, and broth (or cube) to the mix, blending until just dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- While cooling, peel your carrot, slicing it into chunks, and dice up the half onion.
- Once cooled enough to work with, pour the entire contents of the skillet into a blender, tossing in the carrot chunks and onion as well.
- Blend on high for a full 2 minutes. The result should be a relatively smooth, but not silky, dark brown sauce.
- Put some into an old mustard container to use as a condiment, and the rest will keep in the refrigerator for about a month, though it seems to always be used up before that.
I didn't follow the original recipe even once, so this is my translation. It works well enough, and the result is a nice flavor, with just a mild bit of heat, adding a bit of zing to anything it is put on. You may want to add some salt to it, but I'll hold off on that. You can never get rid of too much salt, but you can always add. Up to you, of course.
I have since doubled the number of peppers per recipe to 6, and tossed in 1/2 tsp of seeds to the mix as it brews. The result has more kick with the same flavor.
Fair warning, put a lid on your container as soon as it is filled. Let's just say... a little goes a long way.
