Makes about 300g
This deliciously fragrant, sweet and lightly spicy sauce is a good stand in for mayonnaise or ketchup in any meal. Although you can make it with fresh peppers, it’s perfect when peppers are out of season, or when you simply don’t have time to roast, de-seed and skin any (which is most of the time for me). I like to eat this with steamed mussels as they do in the Canaries (mejillones al vapor con mojo rojo), spreading a dollop of mojo rojo on my plate and dipping each mussel into the sauce using the shell as a pair of tiny tongs.
1 tsp whole cumin seed
2 tsp coriander seed
1 onion – red or brown skinned
Pinch of salt
½-1 tsp mild chilli flakes (Aleppo pepper or pul biber Turkish chilli flakes)
3 tablespoons olive oil (or garlic infused oil)
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
150g preserved piquillo peppers
Lemon juice to taste
Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan until they start to smell delicious and toasty and then tip out onto a chopping board and crush them to a coarse powder with a rolling pin or grind in a pestle and mortar.
Finely dice the onion and sauté very gently with the salt, cumin, coriander seed and chilli in the olive oil until the onion is deeply caramelised – about 15-20 minutes in an uncrowded pan.
Add the garlic to the pan (if using) and continue to cook for another minute or so, stirring constantly until the garlic smells sweet.
Put the onion mixture and any oil/spices into a blender with the peppers and blend until velvety smooth. Taste for salt and lemon juice and add as much as needed. Scrape into a jar, refrigerate and use within 5 days.