Homemade Mojo picante, the spicy red pepper sauce served with papas arrugadas, the wrinkly potatoes, all over the Canary Islands. Now you can try making your own.
Every Spanish family cook, usually mama, seems to have their own recipe for mojo sauce. With regional differences thrown in that makes for a huge variety of recipes.
I always bring some bottles home after one of our visits to Gran Canaria, but they soon run out. Then its off to Brindisa at Borough Market under London Bridge Station for more.
I know you can buy it online from Amazon, and even our local Sainsbury’s sell a brand, but it’s not the same. As an added bonus one of their hot chorizo and rocket rolls from their tapas kitchen goes down a treat.
Brindisa have opened a number of their tapas kitchens in London. If you want to find one look here.
If you fancy some authentic homemade mojo picante sauce, then try making this one. I like it as a dipping sauce with fresh crusty bread, but it would also go down really well at a BBQ.
You can also make mojo suave, a milder smoother version, or mojo verde using coriander or parsley, and sometimes jalapeno peppers.
Mojo Picante
Ingredients
- 1 Large red bell pepper de-seeded and finely chopped
- 2-4 Red chilli peppers de-seeded and finely chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 2 tbsp Wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Using a pestle and mortar (if you have one) add the peeled garlic, salt, cumin, paprika and a drop of the olive oil.
- Grind together to make a paste. If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, add all the ingredients to a food processor, but make sure the garlic is minced well first.
- Add the chopped and de-seeded peppers to the processor, a bit at a time. Blend until smooth.
- Add the olive oil a tablespoon at a time while blending. Less olive oil means a more spicy sauce. Taste to see if you need a little more salt.
- Serve in a bowl or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready. This will keep for up to 3 – 4 days refrigerated. Simply bring to room temperature when ready to serve.