Salsa tatemada (charred salsa) recipe
This spicy salsa is a staple of kitchens across Mexico

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
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- 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.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Tips for seizing control of your digital well-being
The Week Recommends A handy mix of technology and self-motivation
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from Louvre
Speed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Bolivia elects centrist over far-right presidential rival
Speed Read Relative political unknown Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was elected president
-
9 inviting bookstores ready for you to attack their shelves
The Week Recommends Your new favorite book awaits
-
Tim Robinson falls out of a chair, chefs compete for Michelin stars and Martin Scorsese gets the documentary treatment in October TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include ‘The Chair Company,’ ‘Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars’ and ‘Mr. Scorsese’
-
Frankenstein comes to life, the Alabama prison system is exposed and Rose Byrne goes full Crazy Mom in October movies
the week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘The Alabama Solution’ and ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’
-
Choose your own wellness adventure in Greater Palm Springs
The Week Recommends Hit the spa, try a sound bath or take a hike
-
A Taylor Swift analysis, the digital-addiction solution plus what it means to be a gay Black artist — all in October books
The Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Taylor’s Version’ by Stephanie Burt, ‘Enshittification’ by Cory Doctorow and ‘Minor Black Figures’ by Brandon Taylor
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
One great cookbook: ‘The Woks of Life’
The Week Recommends A family’s opinionated, reliable take on all kinds of Chinese cooking
-
The 5 best mob movies of all time
The Week Recommends If you don’t like a good gangster flick, just fuhgeddaboudit