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Habanero Chile Salsa

Salsa de Chile Habanero

The Mayan word for this mixture (xnipec) means "nose of the dog," a vivid description of its sinus-clearing effects. For a truly incendiary salsa, add an extra habanero.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups

16 medium tomatillos (about 2 pounds), husked, rinsed
1/2 medium white onion
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1 1/2-inch-long fresh habanero chile
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
  1. Step 1

    Preheat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chile on prepared baking sheet. Broil until vegetables blacken in spots, about 5 minutes per side for chile and about 10 minutes per side for tomatillos, onion, and garlic.

    Step 2

    Transfer vegetables and any accumulated juices to blender. Add cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Puree until smooth. Transfer salsa to bowl. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Season salsa to taste with more salt.

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Reviews (21)

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  • this is my go to salsa

    • ebartling

    • 1/24/2010

  • Absolutely awesome! I've made this several times now and get rave reviews every time. This is a keeper!

    • Anonymous

    • Phoenix, AZ

    • 9/11/2009

  • I put 6 habeneros and 4 long cayennes in this one. I can't get tomatillos so I used seeded roma tomatoes. Excellent!

    • Anonymous

    • Thailand

    • 7/16/2009

  • Excellent. Used eight (8) habanero's instead of one (1). Next time may add one (1) or two (2)roma tomatoes for a slightly differet twist.

    • chefgary1

    • Roanoke, VA

    • 4/6/2008

  • delicious! i roasted 3 habanero and only used 1 after testing the heat. nice, spicy kick. easy and fun to make. it was my first tomatillo recipe and i'll be making this a lot. no more store bought salsa for me! i think it will make nice food gifts as well.

    • joy2dream

    • w. bloomfield, mi

    • 3/23/2008

  • Absolutely fantastic! I have made this several times and have gotten rave reviews each time. Would highly recommend this recipe!

    • Anonymous

    • Phoenix, AZ

    • 3/10/2008

  • I decided to whip this recipe up as an extra for a superbowl potluck, and it was the hit of the party. Like other reviewers, I like a little texture so I added the chopped cilantro after the mixture was processed as well as 1/2 a diced sweet onion; and an apple, peeled, cored, and diced. I also upped the habaneros to 4. Curiously, it seemed hotter after I first made it than it did the next day.

    • jim8325

    • Anchorage, AK

    • 2/9/2008

  • Used 2 whole red savinas (2x hot as habaneros) and the spiciness was perfect. Honestly I prefer more texture in my salsa but I guess it's a matter of preference. I would add onions and cilantro at the end, raw and diced. The roasted veggies added wonderful dimension to the salsa.

    • papavasi

    • Urbana, IL

    • 9/2/2007

  • SORRY, I live in Mexico and my habaneros are prolific. I am going to make this today based on all of the reviews with more KEY lime juice and the ULTIMATE Fleuer de Sal or Colima Volcano Salt (extreme coarse grain for everone else.....sorry). Everyone looks at my plant and just freaks out. I know that this recipe will be to die for. Have used the same one with my serranos.

    • michitom

    • puerto vallartta

    • 8/14/2007

  • Extreme in flavour and heat! I actually read the recipe wrong, I read 11 1/2 inch habaneros where it actually said 1 1 1/2 inch habanero. I will definately make the same "mistake" again! I brought it to a pot luck party and it went down hot and fast. Everyone loved it! So, I highly recommend that you too use 11 habaneros instead of just 1. It sounds crazy but wow it is the best salsa I have ever had.

    • gnat60

    • Nanaimo, BC

    • 7/22/2007

  • 这有很大的味道!它已成为一个普通的我tem in my fridge, and my guests always love it, my Mexican family even loves it. I do add a couple of extra garlic cloves when I make it and sometimes some extra cilantro.

    • Anonymous

    • San Diego, CA

    • 5/3/2006

  • I forgot to add the onion and used three habaneros. This is an excellent salsa - even if you do forget to add the onion.

    • renriquez

    • Nashville, TN

    • 3/19/2006

  • so many people said that they loved this salsa, theres no way i cant make it again. i changed one thing though...i added four habaneros instead of one...if you do this, WARN people before they take a huge bite.

    • sophiajmb

    • Seattle, Wa

    • 2/7/2006

  • We loved this salsa so much we are going to use it in our gift baskets at Christmas. We have also found that extra roasting time as well as upping the garlic, salt and habanero amount was a real plus.

    • Shellmeisterla

    • Long Beach, CA

    • 11/12/2005

  • I took this salsa to a dinner with my Mexican family, which is the true test of a salsa, and everyone loved it! I did alter it slightly though, I doubled the lime juice, added extra salt, and increased the garlic to 6 cloves. I got compliments on the salsa all night long!

    • prettybrownojos

    • Seattle, WA

    • 11/8/2005

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