SALSAS THAT MAKE THE COUNTRY

May 4, 2017 SouthAmerica

South America countries have strong regional variation in their food styles, which is perhaps best expressed in their preferred unique salsas that accompany the national dishes. This post provides recipes for each country’s salsa as a flavor tour of South America. Many of the below salsas call for some cooking oil as a thickener and binder, in all cases we use olive oil which as a healthier option, and a slight departure from the originals. The flavors of each salsa stand out more sharply if you prepare more than one at a time and have them served side by side for comparison. Of course, authentic preparation also requires serving the salsa with the national dish, a topic not described here. Also pair the salsa and meals with the typical drinks for each respective country and you will have a vacation in your own home.

Argentina – Chimichurri

Chimichurri, a green herbal salsa, is ubiquitous in Argentina steakhouses and households. There are many variants in the ingredients, with one of the main decisions being to include or exclude a chili pepper. The salsa should always come out green, and be fairly coarse in texture. Chimichurri is the taste of Argentina.

Ingredients:

1 cup parsley finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped

1/2 cup green onion finely chopped

1/4 cup of olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 small Fresno red pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Juice of one lime

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl add all the finely chopped vegetables, which are parsley, oregano, green onions, garlic, and the Fresno pepper, and mix them. Then to season add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, mix well. Use the same day, or refrigerate for up to two days.

Serve with steak accompanied with a Malbec wine.

Bolivia – Llajwa

In Bolivia, the Locoto pepper is a variant of what is called rocoto in Peru; both are small hot red peppers with distinct black pepper seeds. In addition, this salsa is made with quilquiña, a Bolivian aromatic herb, which is considered a must-have ingredient for this type of salsa, but preparation outside of Bolivia means substitutes will have to be used. The salsa is finely prepared, not coarse, and so can be made in a blender. This is a hot sauce so do not spare the chili peppers.

Ingredients:

2 Roma tomatoes peeled and cut in squares

2 “Locotos” (or one Habanero and one Fresno chili pepper), seeded and cut in squares

4 parsley sprigs, finely chopped

2 sprigs of quilquiña- not available? Use instead the leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh mint finely chopped

salt to taste

Preparation:

The traditional preparation will crush the peppers and tomatoes in a “batan”, which is a large elongate rock that is used on a stone base while rocking it back and forth to smash the food. You could put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until fully mixed and turned into a paste.

Here we are using a stone mortar and pestle to mash up the tomatoes with the peppers until they are mixed together into a sauce, and then add the parsley, the mint and season with some salt to your liking.

Serve the same day.

Can be used with just about any type of meal to add some heat.

Brasil – Molho Campanha

Molho Campanha, also simply called vinagrete, is a coarse salsa that is similar to the Chilean pebre sauce, but in practice it is used like Argentina’s chimichurri served with meat. Brazilian steakhouses and the love affair with grilled meats are universal throughout the country.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

6 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

juice of one lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

To make Molho Campanha begin with dicing up the vegetables on a cutting board. Place in a large bowl and mix while adding in the juice from one lime and the two tablespoons of olive oil. Add a touch of salt and pepper to your preference. Serve the same day.

Traditionally served with steak.

Chile – Salsa Pebre

Chilean pebre sauce is typical on nearly every table during dinner or lunch. In restaurants one will have portions of small fresh bread that one eats with the pebre sauce. Chileans like their pebre salty. The salsa is very coarse grained, more so than Mexican pico de gallo. Pebre salsa is not too hot, it should mainly be carried by the flavor of the tomato and onion combination, which is no surprise because the Chilean salad also consists of sliced onions and tomatoes.

Ingredients:

1 medium size tomato, diced into small cubes

1 small onion, diced into small cubes

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

1 Serrano pepper finely chopped

1 Fresno pepper finely chopped

2 tablespoons light olive oil

1 tablespoon of white vinegar

Salt and pepper, lightly

Pebre sauce is made all by hand, dicing on a cutting board the ingredients and hand mixing it in a bowl. Last add in the olive oil, white vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. It is always best served fresh, and to be authentic, it will be more salty than what most people will like. In Chile it goes well along some marraqueta bread.

Serve with fresh dinner rolls before the meal and share with a bottle of Carmenere wine from Chile.

Colombia – Aji dulce

This Colombian salsa stands out from the others from South America by having a sweet flavor. It is the only one which directly adds sugar. One of the main ingredients is a Colombian sweet pepper; we substitute it with sweet mini bell peppers in this recipe. We are only speculating, but perhaps the sweet salsa is influenced from the country sharing part of the Caribbean.

Ingredients:

½ cup Sweet Colombian pepper, we don´t have it, so we substitute it with 4 baby red bell pepper cut in chunks

1 Fresno pepper cut in chunks

1/3 cup white vinegar

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 ¼ cups green onion chopped

1/3 cup cilantro finely chopped

Salt

Preparation:

In a blender add the bell pepper, the Fresno pepper, white vinegar, sugar and blend until completely mixed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients the green onions and cilantro, mix well and add a pinch of salt.

This salsa goes better with chicken mainly for the sweet flavor.

Ecuador – Salsa de mani y huevos cocidos

Ecuadorian food is still strongly influenced by the heritage of Andean people, the descendants of the Incas. The salsa uses peanuts, mani in Spanish, which is a New World product. Other Ecuadorian salsas may use chocho, a type of white bean, corn, chili peppers, avocados, and some are prepared with fresh cheese. Salsa de mani adds a distinctive taste to the South America selection of flavors. Another note on Ecuadorian cooking, many food styles are fried or use Manteca (lard). This salsa is no exception. And so between the small amounts of Crisco that we have substituted and the eggs many cholesterol conscientious people may be cringing right now. When in Rome, do as Romans do.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Crisco

1 cup of chopped white onion

1 garlic clove minced

2 tbsp. of cilantro finely chopped

3/4 cup of raw unsalted peanuts

1 tbsp. of frying oil

1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

2 hard-boiled eggs

¼ teaspoon of cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Begin by making two hard-boiled eggs, and then cut them up into tiny cubes.
On a frying pan add 1 tbsp. of oil (any kind) once it is hot add the ¾ cup raw unsalted peanuts and fry them, stirring constantly to make sure they don´t burn until they are completely toasted add a dash of salt. Leave aside to cool down.
Chop the onions and cilantro
In a blender add the toasted peanuts and some of the evaporated milk, blend until it turns into a paste. You might have to add some more milk as you go to reach the desire consistency.
On a frying pan melt the Crisco and fry the onions, garlic and cilantro; sauté them until the onions are transparent. To this add the peanut sauce mix and add the remaining evaporated milk. At this point you can add the cumin, and some more salt if needed. Add the hard-boiled eggs, mix and serve.

We find this salsa goes well with chicken, not unlike the peanut sauce served with Thai chicken satay.

Peru – Uchucuta

This recipe uses the Peruvian rocoto pepper. Substitutes really do not work. Rocoto can be found online from several specialty important companies, but it will be jarred. Alternatively, one can order rocoto seeds online and grow the pepper plant, but this is a many months process that may not always bear fruit. The other option is to carry some jarred rocoto home from Peru if one happened to be travelling there.

The name Uchucuta comes from the Quechua language of the Cusco region. Uchu means chili pepper, and cuta describes a salsa. There are several variants of Uchucuta, including those prepared as creams. Some times while asking for uchucuta in the pueblos of Peru you will end up with finely diced rocoto, other times a pure rocoto sauce that is very hot. Uchucuta dates back to use by the Incas, and of course, during this time they were not cooking with vegetable oils, so it is also worthwhile to try this recipe omitting the olive oil, just add some water instead. Uchucuta should emphasize the chili pepper over all other ingredients.

Peru has many other types of salsas. We will be covering two great ones in our upcoming book called Classic Peruvian Cooking.

Ingredients:

2 rocotos, diced or 8 tablespoons of rocoto sauce

1/4 cup finely chopped huacatay leaves (you can substitute this for fresh mint)

1 tablespoon of olive oil (optional)

water

Salt to taste

If using fresh rocoto crush them in a mortar adding some water as you go to make it into a sauce, then add the mint and season with some salt and pepper.

If using the rocoto sauce just add the finely chopped mint and mix adding some salt and pepper if needed.

Uchucuta is used like any other hot sauce, so it goes very well with many food types.

Uruguay – Salsa Criolla

In Uruguay a common salsa is called criolla. The preparation is similar to the salsa Molho Campanha of Brazil except that it adds bell peppers. It is a coarse cut or diced salsa based on tomatoes, onion, and bell pepper that is served with grilled meats. And let’s be clear, Uruguay has the best beef in South America.

Ingredients:

1 tomato cut in little cubes

1 orange baby bell pepper cut in little cubes

1 yellow baby bell pepper cut in little cubes

1 small onion chopped the same way

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bunch of parsley about 5 tablespoons

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of vinegar

Salt and pepper

In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients and mix them completely and season with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to your taste.

Serve with a nice big steak and Tannat wine.