Chirmol

So we are back from Guatemala and believe it or not we needed a break from Guatemalan food. After eating frijolitos (refried beans) 3 meals a day 7 days a week…we needed a break! So tonight I am attempting to recreate the dish that we were fed everywhere! When we would visit friends at family for lunch…we would get carne asada, chirmol, and grilled onions (scallions/green onions). These all were cooked on a outdoor grill or in one instance a great BBQ pit that I want to attempt to build in my own yard.

So first off is the chirmol which is a smoky salsa roja, that is served as a sauce for carne asada (grilled steak). The tomatoes are charred over an open flame and then blended. Once again my impatience for grilling interfered and my tomatoes were not charred enough. There is something about standing by a hot grill that does not appeal to me, and to keep going in and out of the house is even more annoying. So needless to say my chirmol is not as smoky as it should be. Hindsight is great, isn’t it?

Chirmol

8-10 ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
juice of 1 lime
tablespoon of salt (or more to taste)
1/3 cup packed cilantro, chopped

Preheat grill (preferably outdoors) on high. Place tomatoes over flames and char the skin on each side. The more charred they are the smokier it will be. Once tomatoes are charred, place in a glass bowl and let cool a bit.

Place tomatoes in a blender, can do in 2 batches. Leaving the lid ajar on top of the blender, place a hand towel over the top and blend on lowest setting til tomatoes are broken up and still chunky.

Pour the tomatoes back into the glass bowl and stir in the onion, lime juice, salt and cilantro. Adjust the seasoning and loosely cover until needed. Chirmol is best served still warm. If you like your food spicy you can always add some whole chiltepe for an added zing in your mouth when they pop.

Tweet

No related posts.

Tagged as: beef, carne asada, chiltepe, onions, Salsa, steak, tomatoes