Spain is worldwide known for its tasty food and its tradition of eating “tapas”. One of the first things to catch the attention of visitors is the diversity of Spanish gastronomy. The fact that each region has its own typical dishes, gives the Spanish diet a variety difficult to find in many countries. Although the traditional food of mainland Spain is very popular among the vast number of tourists that the country receives each year, the typical recipes from the Islands are a hidden treasure of the Spanish cuisine.
Among those recipes you will find the “Mojo”, which is the traditional sauce from the Canary Islands. There are different types of Mojo being the most popular of them the red Mojo, commonly known as “Mojo Picón”. Mojo is a delicious and tasty sauce that can be mild or spicy depending on your preference. It is cheap, quick to make (around 10 minutes) and the perfect finish touch to almost any dish as you can use it to flavor meats, fish and potatoes.
INGREDIENTS (to fill a small jar):
½ Glass of Oil (preferably olive oil)
1/3 Glass of Water
½ of a medium size red pepper
1 large tomato
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 tea spoon of coriander
1 small cayenne pepper
Vinegar
Salt
Oregano (optional)
Breadcrumbs (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- You will need a mortar to obtain a home-made taste.
- Peel the cloves of garlic and cut them into very small pieces.
- Place the garlic and the coriander in the mortar and crush them. Add a bit of vinegar and olive oil and crush the mixture until it almost becomes a paste.
- Peel the tomato.
- Cut the red pepper into small pieces.
- Transfer the paste from the mortar to a mixer and add all the other ingredients: the olive oil, the peeled tomato, the pieces of pepper, the water, the vinegar, a pinch of salt and the cayenne pepper (or half of it if you prefer a milder sauce – feel free to adjust it depending on your palate).
- Mix all the ingredients to obtain a thick sauce.
- In case the sauce is not thick enough, a good tip is to add a bit of natural breadcrumbs and mix the sauce again. Bear in mind that Mojo is a fairly thick sauce.
- Add the oregano (optional).
- Put the sauce in an empty jar with a top.
- You can keep the Mojo in your fridge for months.
