The 3 Unique Salsas I Ate Daily When I Lived In Mexico
Looking for something tasty to accompany your summer meals?
These are 3 of my all-time favourite Mexican salsas: fresh avocado, a chilli tomato family recipe, and the not so well known peanut! Perfect for tacos, BBQs, grilled meats, or just dipping with chips under the sun. Easy to make, packed with bold flavour, and guaranteed to impress at your next summer gathering.
Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- The juice of 2 limes
- 1 bunch of chopped coriander
- 2-3 jalapenos or chili peppers of your choice (you can use green peppers if you don't want the heat)
- 2 small crushed garlic cloves
- 125ml 1/4cup neutral oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
<ol><li>Place everything into a blender, and blend until you have a smooth consistency. Never mind.</li></ol>
Tomato and Chilli Salsa (Family Recipe)
Ingredients
- 30 x cherry tomatoes
- 2 x small garlic cloves, peeled
- 10 x chile de arbol
- 1/4 teaspoon - Chicken stock powder
- 25ml water (roughly)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
<ol><li><strong>Heat your pan</strong><br/>Place a dry frying pan (no oil) on <strong>medium heat</strong>.</li><li><strong>Add the tomatoes</strong><br/>Add around <strong>30 small, sweet tomatoes</strong> (cherry, baby plum, or grape).<br/>Let them cook dry — you want the skins to blister and char slightly.</li><li><strong>Char the tomatoes</strong><br/>Shake the pan every <strong>30 seconds</strong>.<br/>Keep going until <strong>1 or 2 tomatoes begin to burst</strong>.</li><li><strong>Add oil and garlic</strong><br/>Push the tomatoes to one side.<br/>Turn the heat to <strong>low</strong>, and add <strong>1 tsp of oil</strong> to the empty space.<br/>Drop in <strong>2 peeled garlic cloves</strong>.</li><li><strong>Gently fry the garlic</strong><br/>Cook the garlic in the oil, <strong>turning every 30 seconds</strong>, until golden on the outside (about <strong>2–3 minutes</strong>).</li><li><strong>Mix everything in the pan</strong><br/>Stir the garlic and tomatoes together.<br/><strong>Turn off the heat completely.</strong></li><li><strong>Add dried chiles</strong><br/>Add <strong>10 dried chiles</strong> to the pan.<br/>Mix them around in the residual heat to gently release their flavour (about <strong>30 seconds</strong>).<br/><em>Note: Don’t turn the heat back on — dried chiles burn easily.</em></li><li><strong>Transfer to blending container</strong><br/>Scoop everything from the pan into a <strong>high-sided blending container</strong>.</li><li><strong>Deglaze the pan</strong><br/>Pour <strong>25ml of water</strong> into the hot pan.<br/>Use a wooden spoon to scrape and lift the browned bits from the bottom.<br/>Add this water to your blending container.</li><li><strong>Season</strong><br/>Add <strong>¼ tsp chicken stock powder</strong> (or finely chopped cube equivalent) and a <strong>small pinch of salt</strong>.</li><li><strong>Blend</strong><br/>Use a <strong>stick blender on medium speed</strong> to blend the salsa.<br/>Pulse gently — <strong>don’t over-blend</strong>. You want a slightly chunky texture, especially from the tomatoes.<br/></li></ol>
Spicy Peanut Salsa
Ingredients
- 100g or 2/3 cup shelled, unsalted peanuts
- 25g or 1/3 cup chile de arbol (dried)
- 50g 1/4 medium onion
- 2 small garlic cloves
- Cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 375ml / 1.5 cups hot water
Instructions
<ol><li><strong>Toast the dried chiles</strong><br/>Place a <strong>dry frying pan</strong> on the <strong>stove over low heat</strong>.<br/>Add <strong>20g of dried chile de árbol</strong>.<br/>Toast gently, <strong>moving the pan every 15 seconds</strong> and stirring the chiles regularly.<br/>Watch closely to avoid burning — toast for <strong>about 2 minutes</strong>, until aromatic and slightly darkened in spots.</li><li><strong>Transfer chiles to blender container</strong><br/>Once toasted, remove the chiles from the pan and place them into a <strong>high-sided blending container</strong>.</li><li><strong>Toast the peanuts</strong><br/>Return the pan to <strong>low heat</strong>.<br/>Add <strong>100g of raw, unsalted, skinless peanuts</strong>.<br/>Toast, stirring often, for around <strong>5 minutes</strong>, until golden in spots and fragrant.</li><li><strong>Add peanuts to the container</strong><br/>Once toasted, transfer the peanuts to the same container as the chiles.</li><li><strong>Add aromatics and seasoning</strong><br/>To the container, add:</li><li><strong>Add hot water</strong><br/>Pour in <strong>375ml of very hot (not boiling) water</strong>.<br/>This helps soften the garlic and onion and ensures the salsa blends to the right consistency.</li><li><strong>Blend the salsa</strong><br/>Blend until smooth.<br/>At first, the mixture will seem thin and watery — <strong>trust the process</strong>.<br/>As the peanuts break down, the salsa will <strong>thicken</strong> into a rich, creamy texture.<br/></li></ol>