Chile Morita Salsa

Salsa De Morita

Our morita salsa is a mild to medium-hot salsa with a note of smokiness from the morita peppers which are ripe red jalapeños that have been dried and smoked, similar to chipotle chiles but with a less pronounced smokiness.

Try this salsa with shredded beef tacos, chicken tostadas, scrambled eggs or as a dip for chips. If you want a salsa with a much more pronounced smokiness try our chipotle salsa.

How to Make Morita Chile Salsa

All of the ingredients you need for your morita salsa are commonly available at most supermarkets. You may already have everything in your pantry. You can also order the chilis online if you are unable to find them locally.

Ingredients:

• 4 Roma tomatoes
• ¼ medium onion
• 3 dried morita chili peppers
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 or 3 sprigs cilantro
• ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (optional)
• 2 cups water for soaking the chilis

1st Step – Seed and Devein the Morita Peppers

Remove the seeds and veins from the morita peppers. Discard the seeds and veins. Doing this reduces the heat of the salsa to get a mild to moderately hot salsa. Leave the seeds and veins in if you prefer a hotter salsa. The seeds and veins will also give your salsa more texture.

Tips for handling chili peppers: Peppers contain capsaicin which is transferred to your skin during handling. Capsaicin can cause a burning sensation on your skin or eyes. Some people are more sensitive than others. Wear kitchen gloves when handling chili peppers to prevent the burning sensation. Always wash your hands well after handling chilis to remove as much of the capsaicin as possible.

2nd Step – Soak the Peppers in Hot Water

In a small pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil then turn off the heat. Place to deveined chiles into the hot water and soak for 10 minutes. Soaking them rehydrates them and gets them ready for blending. Save the soaking water because you will need a few tablespoons to blend the salsa.

3rd Step – Pan Roasting the Tomatoes, Onions, and Garlic

While the morita chiles are soaking it’s time to pan roast the vegetables.

Chop the tomatoes and onions into quarters. Peel the garlic cloves. Preheat a dry pan to medium hot. Then add the tomatoes, onion, and garlic to your pan. Cook the vegetables turning occasionally until the they brown. The more you brown the vegetables the deeper the flavor of your salsa will be.

4th Step – Blending the Salsa

Add all of the ingredients plus 3 tablespoon of the soaking water to your blender jar.

Blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until you get a medium smooth salsa like shown in the photos below. If your salsa isn’t blending well add 1 tablespoon of the soaking water at a time until it blends smoothly.

5th Step – Adjust the Salt

After blending, taste to check the saltiness and add more salt until you get the desired flavor.

Salsa making tip: When we are adjusting the salt level in a salsa we tend to make it a little on the salty side because when you add the salsa to your food the saltiness will even out.

6th Step – Serve Your Salsa

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Provecho!

What dish are you going to serve it with?