Salsa Macha is one of our most loved salsas out there, it is just like a Mexican version of chilli crisp oil. Chiles, garlic and oil come together in a delicious way, especially when personal touches such as peanuts, nuts or even bits of dried fruit are added to the mixture. This is exactly what we did here, took the original formula and gave it a sweet touch by adding little pieces of dates. The result is spicy and sweet, just the way we love our food. There are many ways to enjoy this sweet salsa macha but this time, we added it as a last touch to some simple, but amazing tacos dorados. Pro tip: Add some amazing pickled jalapenos to the mix!
Sweet Salsa Macha
-10 arbol chiles
-1 ancho chile
-7 garlic cloves
-3 to 5 dates
-¼ cup salted peanuts
-walnuts, to taste
-½ cup vegetable oil
-salt, to taste
1 Clean the guajillo and ancho chiles by removing the stem and seeds. Cut them into smaller chunks.
2 Add the oil to a saucepan and as it gets hot, add the garlic cloves and arbol, guajillo and ancho chiles. Cook on medium heat, do not allow it to boil, and keep it constant with tiny bubbles around the chiles and garlic. The chiles should only stay there for anything from 3 to 5 minutes. They should not burn or toast, they should still be soft but bright and fragrant when you remove them.
3 Transfer the chiles to a blender and do the same with the garlic cloves as soon as they turn golden and soft, they can take anything from 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the oil to the blender too.
4 In the same saucepan, with no oil, toast the peanuts and pecans, just enough for them to get fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes only. Transfer them to the blender too.
5 Pulse the chiles, garlic, peanuts and pecans with the oil until you get the consistency you like. You should be able to see small pieces from the chiles and nuts but the garlic should have blended with the oil. Add salt to taste.
6 Dice the dates into small pieces and mix with the salsa macha. The more dates you add, the sweeter it will get. Start with 3 dates and add more if desired.
7 This salsa lasts for weeks in a sealed jar inside or outside the fridge.
Notes
- You can add other nuts too! You can use walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds. Toast them before mixing them with the salsa to enhance their flavour.
- This is a hot salsa that mostly comes from the arbol chiles. If you want your salsa to be less spicy, add less arbol chiles and more guajillo or ancho chiles that add more flavour than heat. You can also use other dried chiles too!
- You can use dried apricots instead of dates! Just add them to taste at the end. The sweetness from dried fruit adds such a beautiful flavour and consistency to this fiery salsa.
Serving Suggestions
Salsa macha is such a beautiful salsa, it is bold, and it is really addictive and delicious. You can use this salsa over avocado toast, hummus, eggs, salads, sandwiches and anything that you can think of.
We added our salsa macha over some crispy tacos dressed with greens, avocado, cream, pickled jalapenos & carrots for a delicious mixture of flavours and textures!
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