Salsa Macha
MEXICAN · MEXICO

Salsa Macha

Salsa machaSideCondiment

A dark, glossy Mexican chilli oil that hits like a fistful of crushed nuts and dried chillies: smoky, garlicky, deeply savoury, with just enough heat. Spoon it over everything — eggs, tacos, grilled corn, bowls of beans.

Total
30 min
Heat
3/5
Serves
12

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Garlicky
  • Nutty
  • Rich
  • Smoky

The real deal

Region
Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico.
Technique
Dried chillies, garlic, nuts and seeds are gently fried in oil until dark, then pounded or pulsed into a rough paste and loosened with the frying oil.
We kept
The nursery of chillies (guajillo, ancho, chile de árbol), peanuts, sesame and garlic fried low and slow, plus a splash of vinegar for lift. Never blended smooth, always left with texture.

Ingredients

12 Serves

chillies

  • 8 · stems and seeds removed
  • 3 · stems and seeds removed
  • 10

Aromatics

  • 8 cloves · peeled, smashed

nuts

  • 80 g · raw, skin-on is fine
  • 2 tbsp
  • 40 g · optional · optional, for extra body

oil

  • 250 ml

finish

  • 1 tbsp
  • 1½ tsp
  • 1 pinch · optional · a pinch to round the edges

Method

  1. Snap the stems off and and shake out the seeds and veins. Tear the pods into flat pieces so they fry evenly. Leave whole — they carry the heat. Smash with the flat of a knife so it splits but holds together. Big pieces fry to sweet, nutty chips instead of burning.

    Seeds and veins are bitter. Take a minute to clear them or the oil will taste ashy.

  2. Pour 250 ml into a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. You want a lazy shimmer — a single chilli dropped in should fizz softly, not roar.

    Low and slow is the whole game. If the oil smokes, pull it off the heat and let it cool before anything goes in.

  3. Slide in the smashed and fry until pale gold and fragrant, about 2 min. Fish them out with a slotted spoon onto paper towel.

    They keep cooking after they leave the oil. Pull them at pale gold.

  4. Add , and, if using, to the oil. Stir gently and fry until the peanuts colour lightly and the sesame turns the colour of honey, about 3 min. Scoop them out with the garlic.

    Sesame seeds go from toasted to burnt in seconds — keep them moving.

  5. Now the chillies. Fry the guajillo and ancho pieces until they puff, darken to a deep brick red and smell sweet and toasty, about 1 min. Do it in batches so they don't crowd. Add the for the last 30 sec until they smell nutty and darken without blackening. Drain everything on the paper with the nuts.

    Blackened chillies are bitter. Pull the pan off the heat if they darken too fast.

  6. Take the pan off the heat and let the oil cool until it's warm but no longer hot, about 10 min. Warm oil blends into a smooth paste; hot oil turns bitter.

  7. Pile the fried chillies, garlic, peanuts, sesame and almonds on a board or in a molcajete and chop or pound to a coarse rubble — some chilli pieces, some nut halves. Do not purée. Texture is the point.

    A food processor works, but pulse it: ten short pulses, then stop.

  8. Scrape the rubble into a bowl and stir in the warm oil until it looks like a loose, chunky paste. Stir in , and the pinch of if using. Taste: it should be smoky, garlicky, a little salty and hum with heat.

  9. Spoon into a clean jar and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature, spooned over eggs, tacos, beans, grilled corn or anything that needs a kick. Keeps in the fridge for about a month; stir before using.

    The oil solidifies in the fridge — that's normal. Let it sit out for ten minutes before serving.

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