Salsas and Moles: Fresh and Authentic Recipes for Pico de Gallo, Mole Poblano, Chimichurri, Guacamole, and More

Mexican cooking is based on mastery of the chile, in both its fresh and its dried forms. In most recipes, heat is only one subtle part of a balanced whole, used like salt or acidity to enhance other flavors. It is unheard of to intentionally make a whole dish inedibly spicy. Everyone knows that extra heat, if desired, may be added in the form of a separate hot salsa.

Heat: 8+

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

One of my “secret” salsas from SOL Cocina, this salsa is so hot that we don’t dare put it on the table for fear a child will stick a chip in it. Instead, guests ask the waiter for “something hotter” and we fix them up with this fiery, bright orange salsa, which is plenty hot enough for all but the most masochistic. Tellingly, it is a favorite of the kitchen crew.

Habanero chiles bring an intense lingering heat to everything they touch—be sure to wear gloves when handling them. The small amounts of agave nectar, vinegar, and salt enhance the fruity nature of the chile. Habaneros will set your lips on fire, and too much will ruin your palate, so use it in small drops. The salsa will keep, refrigerated, for a week to 10 days. Be sure to stir before use and reseason if necessary.

2 TEASPOONS VEGETABLE OIL

¼ CUP DICED WHITE ONION

2 CLOVES GARLIC

2 CUPS WATER

2 TEASPOONS SALT

1 ROMA TOMATO, CHOPPED

8 FRESH HABANERO, STEMMED CHILES

1 TABLESPOON WHITE VINEGAR

1 TABLESPOON AGAVE NECTAR

Serving Ideas: The salsa has a natural affinity with all kinds of seafood, as well as anything made with lots of fresh lime, so shrimp coctel, ceviche, and fish soups are natural pairings. It’s unusual and delicious with fruit, especially orange or watermelon. The heat and salt work wonders with starchy, fried, or salty foods, such as jicama, onion rings, or fried potatoes.

In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic until just softened. Add the water, salt, tomato, and habaneros and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the chiles are soft. Transfer to a blender, add the vinegar and agave nectar, and blend until fairly smooth, with a little texture.

Variation: If this salsa is too hot, reduce the number of habaneros by half next time.

Heat: 8

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

This green salsa is one of the house-made hot salsas I serve at my Solita restaurants. With its combination of serrano and habanero chiles, it has a heat level well into the realm of the diabolical, but it is a favorite of guests and cooks alike.

8 TOMATILLOS, HUSKED, WASHED, AND QUARTERED

¼ WHITE ONION, DICED

3 CLOVES GARLIC

4 HABANERO CHILES, STEMMED

2 SERRANO CHILES, STEMMED AND SPLIT

4 TEASPOONS SALT

¼ BUNCH CILANTRO, LOWER STEMS REMOVED, ROUGHLY CHOPPED

3 TABLESPOONS WHITE VINEGAR

Serving Ideas: Use this sauce in small droplets on enchiladas, or drizzle it on bubbling queso fundido to complement the richness of the melted cheeses. It is also sensational on chicharrón—those addictive bits of crunchy pork skin—and anything simmered or fried.

Place the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chiles in a 2-quart saucepan. Barely cover with water and add the salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the tomatillos are soft but not falling apart, about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the vegetables and their cooking liquid to a blender. Add the cilantro and vinegar and puree until completely smooth. Thin with a small amount of water if you wish; then taste and adjust the seasoning with vinegar and salt.

(Roasted Green Chile Salsa) Heat: 6

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

Chiles aren’t just about heat; each chile also has its own distinct flavor. Both elements are found in this deliciously smoky, spicy, dark green salsa made of roasted green chiles, jalapeños, and serranos. I named this salsa to honor the volcano Popocatépetl, which looms over Mexico City, but variations on this kind of salsa can be found everywhere in Mexico. This recipe is one of the easiest to modify for heat: just reduce the number of hot chiles and increase the amount of mild green Anaheim chiles. It will still be delicious. Volcano Salsa is best made fresh and served warm or at room temperature.

6 LARGE SERRANO CHILES

4 JALAPEÑO CHILES

2 ANAHEIM CHILES

4 MEDIUM TOMATILLOS, HUSKED, WASHED, AND DRIED

4 LARGE CLOVES GARLIC, UNPEELED

¼ WHITE ONION, DICED

1 TEASPOON SALT

½ TO ¾ CUP WATER

1 TEASPOON WHITE VINEGAR (OPTIONAL)

Serving Ideas: This is fantastic on steaks, fried fish tacos, and even grilled sausages and hamburgers.

Turn on the fan over the stove. Line a large cast-iron skillet or heavy griddle with aluminum foil and set over high heat. Roast the chiles, tomatillos, and garlic until blackened on all sides but still somewhat firm. Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the stems from the serranos and jalapeños (do not remove the seeds). Stem and seed the Anaheim chiles. Peel the garlic.

Place the roasted vegetables in a food processor along with the onion and salt and pulse until snooth but not pureed. Place in a serving bowl and stir in ½ cup of the water, adding more if needed. (The sauce should be thick, but not so thick that a spoon stands up in it.) Stir in the vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt as desired; I like this salsa to be highly seasoned.

Heat: 8+

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

This unusual salsa is made with the manzana chile, which looks like a small golden bell pepper—innocent and rather attractive. The flesh of the manzana is thick yet soft, distinguished by a round bump around its tough stem and a ball of large triangular seeds that are as black as coal, as if they had been burned up by the chile’s heat. It is used in central Mexico to make exquisitely flavored salsas and has an edge of fruitiness and searing heat that rivals that of the habanero. When I make this salsa, I set aside a few of those unusual black seeds to sprinkle on top of the salsa, which is quite lovely with flecks of gold and pink and green mixed with the black seeds. This salsa is best used fresh.

3 CUPS WATER

2½ TEASPOONS SEA SALT

2 LARGE ROMA TOMATOES

2 MEDIUM TOMATILLOS, HUSKED AND WASHED

1 LARGE CHILE MANZANA

2 CLOVES GARLIC

3 SPRIGS CILANTRO, FINELY MINCED

1 TABLESPOON FINELY MINCED WHITE ONION (OPTIONAL)

Serving Ideas: I like this on anything with melted cheese, such as quesadillas; with pork carnitas; or stirred into a chicken sopa Azteca with tortillas, avocado, chicken, and cheese. Mix a little with diced mango and serve on grilled fish.

Bring the water and 2 teaspoons of the salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and tomatillos and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and let cool. Simmer the tomatillos for 2 minutes longer, or until tender but not falling apart. Transfer to a food processor with a slotted spoon. Reserve the cooking water, in case it is needed to thin the salsa. Peel the tomatoes amd add to the food processor.

(Salsa Amarilla) Heat: 5

MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS

This salsa reminds me of late summer and the height of chile season, when spicy small peppers such as pale yellow güero chiles are at their peak of heat and flavor, and a quick, simple salsa like this can even be made using an outdoor grill. Güero means light colored, or fair. These chiles have their own distinctive citrusy tangy flavor, plus a heat level that falls somewhere between a jalapeño and a serrano. The finished salsa is thick and light green, speckled with bits of charred skin. This salsa is best served fresh and warm.

6 LARGE GÜERO CHILES

4 MEDIUM TOMATILLOS, HUSKED, WASHED, AND DRIED

2 LARGE CLOVES GARLIC, UNPEELED

¼ CUP WATER

1 TEASPOON SALT

Serving Ideas: This salsa is excellent on grilled meats, tacos, carnitas, and quesadillas.

Turn on the fan over the stove. Line a large cast-iron skillet with aluminum foil and set over high heat. Roast the chiles, tomatillos, and unpeeled garlic on all sides until soft and blackened in places, turning occasionally. Remove each vegetable from the pan as it is cooked and set aside to cool.

Peel the garlic. Split the chiles along one side and remove the stems and seeds. Place the chiles in a food processor along with the tomatillos, garlic, water, and salt, and pulse to form a fairly smooth salsa with some texture. Scrape into a bowl. Thin the salsa with a bit of water if you wish. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Heat: 7

MAKES ABOUT 3½ CUPS

Long and narrow, with many seeds, the chile de arbol attacks the tongue with quick stabbing heat, which then just as quickly dissipates. This very traditional salsa uses toasted or blackened chiles de arbol to add a smoky depth of flavor. I suggest you do the blackening step in a well-ventilated area; the fumes are very strong. If this is not possible or if you are very sensitive to chiles, omit the blackening step and simply sauté the chiles with the other vegetables; the salsa will still taste great. To boost the heat of the salsa, add the optional habaneros. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

1 ROUNDED CUP (FIRMLY PACKED) STEMMED CHILES DE ARBOL

2 TABLESPOONS VEGETABLE OIL

¼ WHITE ONION, CUT INTO 1-INCH PIECES

6 LARGE CLOVES GARLIC

2 ROMA TOMATOES, CUT INTO QUARTERS

2 HABANERO CHILES, STEMMED (OPTIONAL)

2 CUPS WATER

1 TO 2 TABLESPOONS SEA SALT

1 TO 2 TABLESPOONS WHITE VINEGAR

Serving Ideas: This is a great all-purpose (very) hot sauce that is good on everything, and a little goes a long way. It is a must on beer-battered fish or shrimp tacos, seafood coctel, and ceviches.

Turn on the fan over the stove. Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles de arbol and cook and stir for several minutes, until they are blackened in spots.

Quickly add the oil, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden. Add the tomatoes, habanero chiles, water, and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool for 30 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the skillet to a blender along with the vinegar and puree to make a smooth sauce with flecks of black. Add a small amount of water to thin the sauce, then taste and adjust the salt and vinegar as desired. Although the salsa will be very spicy, it should also be highly seasoned with salt and vinegar to balance the heat.

Heat: 5

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

Two dried chiles with berry flavors form the base of this salsa, which has a near perfect balance of fruit, complex flavors, and heat. The morita chile is a dried serrano chile. Its unique combination of natural sweetness and heat tastes like a smoky strawberry with an intense punch of heat, and is wonderfully complemented by the fruity, rich flavor of the ancho chile, a handful of raisins, and other savory elements. This salsa keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

3 LARGE ANCHO CHILES

4 MORITA CHILES

2 TABLESPOONS VEGETABLE OIL

½ WHITE ONION, DICED

4 LARGE CLOVES GARLIC, SLICED

¼ CUP SEEDLESS RAISINS

1 ROMA TOMATO, CUT INTO 8 PIECES

1 MEDIUM TOMATILLO, HUSKED, WASHED, AND CUT INTO 6 PIECES

3 CUPS WATER

2 TEASPOONS SALT

1 TEASPOON WHOLE MEXICAN OREGANO

5 BLACK PEPPERCORNS

Serving Ideas: This unusual salsa is perfect for pork but would go just as well on roast duck or lamb, smoked turkey dark meat, or as a condiment with a selection of buttery cheeses and hard sausage.

Wearing gloves, stem and split the ancho chiles and remove the seeds. Stem the morita chiles. Tear all the chiles into small pieces.

Turn on the fan over the stove. Heat the oil in a heavy sauté pan over heat. Add the chiles and cook, stirring, until fragrant and soft. Add the onion, garlic, and raisins and cook and stir for several more minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the tomato, tomatillo, water, salt, oregano, and peppercorns. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the tomatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes. Cool, then transfer to a blender. Puree until smooth. Add more water to thin, if you wish. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Note: If the salsa seems too sweet, you may opt to add a teaspoon or two of white vinegar. On the other hand, you may want to enhance the sweetness of the salsa by adding a small amount of agave nectar, but no more than 1 tablespoon. Always taste for salt before serving.

Heat: 6

MAKES ABOUT 3½ CUPS

Chiles mecos, best known as chipotles, are smoke-dried ripe jalapeños. This salsa is smoky, with a subtle garlic kick and medium heat, and it’s good with anything and everything. You can adjust the amount and character of the garlic in this salsa. As the recipe is written, the cooked garlic will have a mellow, retiring character in the salsa, while substituting raw garlic would give it a definite edge. Important: Be patient while toasting these chiles. Cook them slowly, because they burn easily. Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area.

6 LARGE DRIED CHIPOTLES (CHILES MECOS), STEMMED

3 CUPS WATER

2½ TEASPOONS SEA SALT

1 ROMA TOMATO

4 LARGE CLOVES GARLIC

¼ WHITE ONION, DICED

2 TEASPOONS WHITE VINEGAR

Serving Ideas: The smoky chipotle heat is great with grilled foods—vegetables, fish, steak, or chicken. Mix with an equal amount of mayonnaise or butter to make a baste for grilled corn.

(“Gasolina”) Heat: 8

MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS

I was fascinated by this pitch-black salsa the first time I tasted it, at the wonderful El Bajio restaurant in Mexico City. I knew only that it was a traditional salsa from the south, made with blackened chipotle chiles. I made many attempts to duplicate the salsa, but it still wasn’t hot enough for our customers. I took the plunge and added a few dried bhut jolokia (Indian ghost chile, at the time the hottest chile on earth) and a couple of habaneros, which did the trick.

The heat of the resulting sauce will creep up on you. The burnt-black chiles give flavor (and oddly, much of the sweetness) to this salsa, while the habaneros burn and the ghost chiles bring on a full-body sweat. Making this salsa is quite a project, but definitely worth it. I strongly suggest that you blacken the chiles away from other people, preferably outside in a pan on an outdoor grill. The choking fumes have cleared my kitchen more than once.

Heat: 8+

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

The smaller the chile, the hotter, so the tiny chile pequín is bound to be a little monster, with a searing, lingering heat. This is definitely not a dipping salsa. Chiles pequín are widely used in northwest Mexico, especially in Sinaloa along the Pacific Coast around Mazatlán and Culiacán, where cooks will season a soup, stew, or salsa with just a couple of chiles. As is so often the case, a number of different small chiles—golden brown spheres or arrow-shaped—might be sold under the names of pequín, chiltepín, or tepín. A hot sauce made entirely from pequín chiles is a bright orange color and extremely hot. Very small drops will give all the heat you could ever want. If the salsa is just too darned hot, next time reduce the amount of chiles pequín in the salsa by half, and add another tomato. Refrigerated, this salsa seems to keep almost indefinitely.

2 TEASPOONS VEGETABLE OIL

¼ CUP DICED WHITE ONION

3 CLOVES GARLIC

1¾ CUPS WATER

1½ TEASPOONS SALT

¼ CUP DRIED CHILES PEQUÝN OR TEPÍN

1 ROMA TOMATO

½ TEASPOON WHITE VINEGAR

Serving Ideas: This is a classic salsa for fish soups, seafood coctel, ceviches, raw oysters, and fish tacos.

Heat the oil in a 1-quart saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until softened. Add the water and salt. Bring to a boil, then add the chiles and tomato. Simmer for 7 minutes.

Remove the tomato, peel it, and place in a blender along with the contents of the pan. Puree until perfectly smooth, then stir in the vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

(Salsa for Raw Seafood) Heat: 5

MAKES ABOUT ¾ CUP, ENOUGH FOR 4 OUNCES OF SEAFOOD

Aguachile verde is a beautiful, bright green salsa used to make a kind of quick ceviche with raw seafood such as fresh-caught shrimp, sliced meaty scallops, or slivers of raw fish (tiradito). Spicy, tart, fresh-flavored, and in-your-face raw, aguachile verde is a powerful experience. It should be made and consumed immediately.

1 MEDIUM TOMATILLO, HUSKED, WASHED, AND QUARTERED

1 SERRANO CHILE, STEMMED

¼ TO ½ TEASPOON SALT

JUICE OF 1 LIME

JUICE OF 1 LEMON

1 TABLESPOON MINCED CILANTRO

Serving Ideas: The basic agauachile recipe is given at the end of this recipe, but you can also stir the salsa into your favorite ceviche, or spoon it onto any kind of seafood taco or tostada. It’s especially nice on grilled fish.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until a smooth, bright green sauce is formed. Taste for seasoning; the aguachile verde should be spicy hot, citrusy, and highly seasoned.

To make an aguachile: Mix the finished salsa with an equal quantity of thinly sliced raw or lightly cooked shrimp, fish, or scallops, and a bit of shredded red onion and cucumber. Top with diced avocado and a drizzle of extra-virgin Baja California olive oil, and pile onto crisp tostadas to eat.

(for Seafood) Heat: 5

The Yucatán Peninsula has some of the finest seafood in the world. The following recipes are typically served alongside fish and shrimp preparations, but they are just as good on other foods, such as pork pibil. The juice of the tart and fragrant lima agria would be used in the Yucatán—it tastes a bit like a very sour lime, with a hint of bitter orange—but Key limes or Mexican limes are a perfectly acceptable substitute. Green habaneros are the chile of choice for these salsas, but they can be difficult to find, so I have suggested substitutions. If a finished salsa seems too sweet, add a couple drops of white vinegar—these salsas are supposed to be zingy.

Serving Ideas: Use these condiments generously on fried fish, fish or shrimp tacos, seafood coctel, ceviches, raw oysters, seafood tostadas, and pork pibil.

A simple way to add zip to anything made with seafood, this sauce will get hotter as it sits. MAKES ABOUT ⅓ CUP

⅓ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

1 small green habanero chile, 2 serrano chiles, or 3 Thai bird chiles, sliced paper-thin, with seeds

Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand for 30 minutes or so. Drizzle small spoonfuls of the lime juice on your food, avoiding the chiles if possible.

2 Col (Cabbage)

Col adds crunch as well as heat. It’s fantastic on fish tacos, of course, but try stirring a bit into a serving of shrimp ceviche or substituting it for shredded lettuce on any tostada. MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP

1 cup finely chopped green cabbage

¼ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice or sour orange juice

1 teaspoon white vinegar

¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1 green habanero chile, or 2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Use immediately, or let stand for 30 minutes to soften the cabbage.

This sauce is a simple way to add zip to anything made with seafood. It will get hotter as it sits. MAKES ABOUT ⅓ CUP

½ cup minced white onion

½ cup diced Roma tomato

½ cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

1 green habanero chile, or 2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced

Juice of 2 limes (about ¼ cup)

½ to ½ teaspoon white vinegar

½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and use very fresh. You can adjust the proportion of onion and tomato to your liking.

The hottest of the group, this salsa can be roasted instead of simmered. Put it in a food processor with a little water to thin. MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

6 green habanero, or 5 small serrano chiles plus 1 habanero chile, stemmed

2 cups water

¼ cup diced white onion

2 large cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ to 1 teaspoon white vinegar

In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the habaneros in the water until tender, about 7 minutes. Puree in a blender with the cooking liquid, onion, garlic, salt, and vinegar.