Salsa tatemada (charred salsa) recipe

This is my favourite type of salsa, said Karla Zazueta. Spicy and smoky, it's found all over Mexico, and makes a great addition to any table. My father regularly made it when I was growing up, and every time he did, we'd have to leave the house, as the chilli fumes would get into every corner and make us cough. If you make it, remember to open the windows when you toast the chillies: that way you’ll prevent experiencing a spicy rush to your head.

Ingredients

• 2 small garlic cloves, unpeeled 
• 40g onion, peeled and whole 
• 2 plum tomatoes 
• 15 dried árbol chillies, stems removed
• 120ml hot water 
• 1⁄2 tsp sea salt 
• juice of 1 lime

Method

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• Heat a comal (Mexican flat griddle pan) or a dry frying pan over high heat. Place the garlic cloves, onion and plum tomatoes into the hot pan; there's no need to add any oil. Char them until the skin is black. Remember to remove the garlic as soon as it turns black and remove its skin, setting the peeled cloves aside.
• Toast the árbol chillies for no longer than a minute, tossing them around so they do not burn. This will enhance the flavour. Take them out of the pan and place in the hot water for 10 minutes to soften. Remove the chillies and reserve the chilli water for later use. Roughly chop the chillies and set aside.
• There are two ways to make this salsa: in a molcajete (pestle and mortar) or in a blender. If using a molcajete, start by mashing the garlic, adding the salt.
• Finely chop the charred onion, then add it to the molcajete and mash until puréed. Add the árbol chillies, mashing them with the pestle as much as you can. Add the tomatoes and mash until it becomes a paste. Adjust the consistency with the addition of some reserved chilli water to make it runny. Squeeze in the lime juice. Leave in the molcajete to serve.
• If using a blender, add the charred garlic, onion, tomatoes, rehydrated árbol chillies and salt to a blender, adding a quarter of the reserved water. Blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and let it set before adding the lime juice and more reserved chilli water if the consistency is too thick.

Taken from Norteña: Authentic Family Recipes from the North of Mexico by Karla Zazueta, published by Pavilion Books at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.

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