It seems to be me that the very best travel souvenirs are recipes, and this one for Guatemalan Chile (much like a fresh salsa) is just such a souvenir. When I say “Recipes,” I’m not talking about cookbooks (although those are great as well)… I’m talking about the times when you sit down in a kitchen with someone’s grandmother in another country, watch them make a traditional dish, and take notes.
The origin of this recipe
Today I am delighted to welcome a guest cook to my kitchen – My sister Micaiah! This dish is one that she learned to make in just the way I mentioned above. Micaiah spent a year in Guatemala, and while she was there, she learned this dish from a cook friend of hers – without a recipe!
How this recipe came to be
So, as soon as I got a chance, I had her come over. I got a pen, and we took notes on exactly what we did. Which I am happy to report… resulted in one of the best batches of chile we’d ever had, and has resulted in many more batches of similar quality time and again since!
Meet Micaiah
Now, to feature the celebrity of the day– this is my sister Micaiah:
Look at that face of skill and beauty. This is the 7th person in my family of 12, and the 6th sister (there are 10 girls and 2 boys in my family all together).
Micaiah spent a year living in Guatemala helping with a ministry down there that my uncle founded, and that’s where she learned to love this recipe.
What is Chile?
Chile is a side/topping for just about anything. It’s a lot like a fine fresh salsa or hot sauce – and IT IS VERY HOT. You can make it with any kind of hot pepper, but since jalapeños are probably the most accessible in North America, we decided to make it with those. We have also made this with Scotch Bonnet peppers before, and let me tell you, those are also delicious – but definitely more spicy! So, if you want to go for a milder version of this sauce, go for a milder pepper.
Ways to eat chile
Personally, I love to eat this on burritos, tacos, enchiladas, baked potatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches, beans and rice… Just about anything savoury that could use a little extra kick and cilantro/lemon flavour.
You will need:
- Cutting board
- Quality chef’s knife
- Frying pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Lemon juicer
- Jars, for storage
- Food processor
Want to see how it’s made? Scroll down for the recipe!
Guatemalan Chile
This recipe is for a delicious, easy to adapt type of hot sauce/salsa to eat on whatever you like. It's fresh, simple, and oh-so-good!
Ingredients
- 4 med tomatoes large Roma tomatoes are best, but you can use anything (as I have in this tutorial)
- 6 large jalapeño peppers or about 120g (4-5oz) of another type of hot pepper (assuming each jalapeño pepper weighs about 20g or 0.7oz)
- 3/4 cup water
- 2-3 large cloves garlic
- 1 sm-med onion minced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
- 1 med-large lemon
- 1 Tbsp salt
Instructions
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First, prep the vegetables. Peel the onion and garlic, wash all of the vegetables, and remove the stems of the tomatoes and jalapeños. Juice the lemon, chop the cilantro leaves, and mince the onion. Set aside.
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In a large frying pan, dry-fry the de-stemmed whole tomatoes and jalapeños till just browned/blackened/blistered. Remove from heat.
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In a med-large saucepan, combine the fried tomatoes, jalapeños, and garlic (can be whole cloves) with the water. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, until the vegetables are very tender. Set aside to cool.
(Note: If using a blender, the mixture will have to be completely cool before moving on to the next step. If using a food processor, make sure the top loader is open so that the heat can escape.)
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Spoon the tomato mixture into a food processor or blender; purée. Pour into a mixing bowl.
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Stir in the chopped cilantro, minced onion pieces, lemon juice, and salt. Taste (careful- it's spicy!!) to make sure there's enough salt; add more to taste if you prefer. Pour into pint jars, and refrigerate.
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Serve as a hot sauce or salsa; store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- If you like, you can purée the some, or all, of the onion with the vegetables to make a smoother sauce.
- This recipe makes about 5-1/2 cups of chile, almost enough to fill 3 pint jars.
CAUTION: Be careful when handling hot peppers! I recommend cutting them without touching the exposed flesh of the pepper, or using gloves to protect your hands as you work. Also, be sure to keep your eyes protected when you blend everything up – This is a friend to your mouth, but definitely not to your eyes!
Storage
If you make this recipe, store it in the fridge. With all of those fresh ingredients, it will last for a while (maybe a few weeks)– but not forever! So make sure you plan to eat it up semi-quickly.
Many thanks to Micaiah for her know-how and help with this recipe! I loved making it, and even more, I love having the recipe to keep! This is a gift that keeps on giving.
As always, leave your thoughts in the comments! As always, if you make this recipe, please tag me in your photos on Facebook @naomicakes or Instagram @naomicakesofficial! I would love to see your work!
Bye for now!
–Naomi
P.S.
Micaiah also has a Makeup and Style Page on Facebook and Instagram, and she and I were thinking of collaborating on some different foods and makeup looks from around the world. What do you think? Would you be interested in that? And what country do you think we should learn from first?
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[…] personally I think that if you want some added heat, you should just add some hot salsa or Guatemalan Chile to top it […]