Chile Morita Salsa | Mexican Please

This is a wickedly delicious Salsa!

And it packs some real heat so consider yourself warned 🙂

It relies on Morita Chiles, have you used these before?

These are sometimes referred to as Chipotle Morita chiles.  Basically, if you keep a jalapeno on the vine long enough it will turn reddish in color.  Those red jalapenos are then smoked, de-hydrated, and sold as Morita chiles.

They are loaded with smoky, fiery goodness and they will turn your Salsa into a flavorbomb! 

Notice in the pic below that all the chiles have a unique name, and yet they all start out as a fresh jalapeno.  See this post for more info on Morita chiles. 

As usual, it’s best to roast your dried chiles before using them — this will wake them up and enhance their flavor.  This step makes a huge difference so please don’t skip it!  

I default to plopping them in the oven for a couple minutes, but keep in mind that you can pan roast them too.  Once roasted, you’ll want to re-constitute them by soaking them in hot tap water — this will make them more amenable to being ground up and help infuse their flavor into your Salsa.   More tips on working with dried chiles. 

For this Salsa I’m using a combo of tomatoes and tomatillos.  And yes, you’ll want to roast these too!

20-30 minutes in the oven (400F) is a good default to keep in mind.  The tomatillos typically need less roasting time than the tomatoes, but lately I just leave everything in the oven until I need it.

Here’s what this batch looked like after 25 minutes in the oven:

And yes, there are many ways to roast these too!  But I think you’re leaving some flavor on the table by boiling them, so I usually recommend the oven or the broiler.  Here’s a post comparing roasting methods for tomatoes and tomatillos. 

The Moritas will need about the same amount of time to re-constitute.  Afterwards, I typically de-seed the Moritas.  Note that this is optional though as the seeds won’t affect the flavor or heat too much, but it can be annoying to get a mouthful of dried chile seeds.

So in the above pic I’m using:

2 roma tomatoes
4 tomatillos
1/2 small onion
1 garlic clove
2 Morita chiles

And now give it all a whirl! 

Please keep in mind that using 2 Morita chiles will give you some real heat!

For a milder version I would recommend starting with a single Morita and doing some tasting.  You could even start with half of a Morita — to increase the heat simply keep adding slivers of Morita until it tastes right to you. 

It’s a genuine flavorbomb and I’ve had some of this Morita Salsa on standby in the fridge over the last couple weeks.  It’s been a welcome jolt for my kitchen and I hope it will be for you too 🙂 

There are loads of ways to use the Salsa.  If it’s your first batch try serving it up with some chips and Guac to see how your palate reacts. 

And then you could consider using it as the primary Salsa in any of these recipes:

Bean Tostadas with Avocado, Queso Fresco, and Homemade Salsa
Breakfast Tacos
Chicken Burritos with Salsa Verde

Burritos, tacos, tostadas, eggs, sandwiches…the possibilities are endless.  But first you have to make it!

Please consider giving this one a go — I think you’ll get loads of mileage out of it 🙂

P.S.  You can find Morita chiles in Hispanic markets and sometimes even in the bigger grocery stores.  As a backup, they are quite easy to find on Amazon. 

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Morita Chile Salsa

This is a wickedly delicious Salsa but consider yourself warned…it packs some heat!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 35kcal

Author: Mexican Please

Ingredients

• 2 Morita chiles (or less for a milder version)
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 4-5 tomatillos
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 garlic clove
• squeeze of lime (optional)
• pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions

• Start by roasting the Morita chiles. I usually plop them in the oven at 400F for a couple minutes. Once roasted, add them to a bowl and cover with hot tap water, letting them reconstitute for 20 minutes or so. Once reconstituted I like to cut them open and discard the seeds, but you can consider this step optional. Tips on roasting dried chiles.

• Husk the tomatillos and then rinse both the tomatoes and tomatillos.  I usually remove the stems from both of them knowing that any juices leftover in the roasting pan will go into the blender. Roast the tomatoes and tomatillos in the oven (400F) for 20-30 minutes.

• Once roasted, add the tomatoes and tomatillos to a blender along with 1/2 small onion, 1 peeled garlic clove, and the 2 Morita chiles that have already been roasted and reconstituted. Combine well. Keep in mind you can always use less Moritas for a milder version. Start with a single Morita, or even half, and do some taste testing — to increase the heat simple keep adding slivers of Morita until it tastes right to you.

• And now take a taste! Lately I do not add any salt or lime to this recipe, but these are good options to consider for your palate.

• Serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge where they will keep for a few days. 

• Yum 🙂

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