The Cooked Burrito Sauce
Born from a cupboard emergency. Tinned tomatoes and ground coriander will never make a fresh salsa — but apply heat and they make something arguably better, a thick smoky relish that won't blow out a wrap.
why it works
Cooking tomatoes actually makes their lycopene more bioavailable than eating them raw, so this is doing more work than a fresh salsa on that front. Smoked paprika is standing in for the sugar that jarred salsas use to mask the acidity of tinned tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 fat clove garlic, minced
- juice of 1 lemon or lime
- a tiny drizzle of olive oil
- chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- pinch of salt
Method
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Tiny drizzle of olive oil in a small saucepan. Diced onion and minced garlic in for 3–4 minutes until they soften and start to smell good.
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The entire dry spice blend straight into the hot oil with the onions — chilli flakes, ground coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and the oregano rubbed between your palms as it goes in. Fry for 30–60 seconds. Heating ground spices wakes them up and gets rid of that raw, dusty texture.
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Pour in the tin of chopped tomatoes. Heat down, and let it simmer gently for 10–12 minutes. You want the water to evaporate until it reduces into a thick, concentrated paste rather than a sauce.
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Off the heat, stir in the fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt to cut through the richness.
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Let it cool slightly, then spoon a couple of tablespoons directly onto the wrap before the fillings go in. It won't soak through the way a wet salsa would.
remix
- This is the exact spice set that makes shop-bought salsa taste like shop-bought salsa, minus the sugar
- A pinch of chipotle powder for more smoke
- Blend it smooth if you want a pourable sauce rather than a relish
- Freezes well in an ice cube tray
- Stir a spoonful into refried beans