When you open my refrigerator, you’ll come across an endless sea of hot sauces, mayos and oils. What you won’t find, though, is jarred salsa. Not only is homemade salsa noticeably tastier but salsa can also be much more than the chopped tomato-onion-cilantro mixture you’ll find in most American grocery stores.
“There are so many Mexican salsas that you could easily fill a cookbook with nothing else,” explains chef and cookbook author Gabriela Cámara. “A salsa can be cooked or raw, blended or chunky, made with fresh chiles or with dried ones that you soak and blend.” Salsa is a cornerstone of cooking in Mexico, and recipes vary by region and every home cook. As someone who is Korean-American, the nuances in salsa parallel that of kimchi and how it’s made in so many ways.
Like that jar of kimchi made my way, inspired by my aunt’s way, there’s now a permanent spot in my fridge for salsa guille, a fantastic salsa recipe from poet, food writer and cookbook author Andrea Aliseda and her family. Instead of chopped tomatoes or onions or cilantro, this creamy salsa boasts spicy, savory notes and has a secret ingredient that ties it all together.
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What is Salsa Guille?
Passed down from generation to generation from her paternal grandmother (named Guillermina, or Guille), Andrea Aliseda’s salsa guille is a one-of-a-kind salsa made of mostly serrano peppers, onions and garlic fried in oil and then blitzed together until smooth and creamy.
It also contains an unexpected ingredient: peanut butter. Curious about how the peanut butter came to be, Aliseda did some investigation and she found that her grandmother’s original recipe had no mention of the ingredient. As it turned out, adding peanut butter was a move from another matriarch in her life. “Because my mom lives for heat, she made it spicy, leaving the seeds from the chile intact, but added an eccentric nutty twist—peanut butter—that tames the bite,” explains Aliseda.
Once in Aliseda’s hands, the salsa recipe continued to evolve. When she makes salsa guille, Aliseda removes the seeds from the serrano chile peppers to “highlight their flavor without the distraction of the heat and, truthfully, to cater to my sensitive tongue.”
Because the sauce is blended (and includes some peanut butter), salsa guille is ultra-smooth. The texture makes it great for spreading on sandwiches, but it’s also perfect for dipping with chips or drizzling on nachos or tacos. To me, it tastes like warm sun-kissed summer days, even when it’s dreary and miserable outside. Beyond the salsa itself, the recipe also gives you some delicious garlic-infused oil that’s great for frying eggs.
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How to Make Salsa Guille
You can find Aliseda’s full recipe for salsa guille over on the Epicurious website, but here are the basic directions for making this rich, velvety salsa.
Start by simmering onions, garlic and serrano chiles in avocado or grapeseed oil. Next, blend the cooked vegetables with peanut butter, vegetable bouillon concentrate (such as Better Than Bouillon) and salt. While blending, slowly pour the oil in to emulsify the salsa until it becomes smooth. Transfer the salsa to a bowl and top with chopped peanuts, if you’d like. The salsa will keep well in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Related: How to Make the Best-Ever Hummus, According to Ina Garten
