Mexican · Authentic-ish Mexican
Salsa Roja
22 kcal a serving, against 56 for the traditional version. That is 34 kcal off, or 61%, with 0.9g of protein. Serves 8. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Dried ancho chillies, tomatoes, onion and garlic slowly fried in vegetable oil until soft and fragrant. The mixture is blended into a smooth puree and often returned to the hot frying pan to reduce further in even more fat.
What changed, and what each change costs
Frying the chillies in oil down to dry-toasting them
Oil adds hundreds of useless calories to a condiment that simply doesn't need it. Dry-toasting in a hot frying pan wakes up the dried chillies and releases their natural oils without any extra fat. You drop a massive amount of energy from the bowl while keeping what little protein the vegetables offer.
What it costs you. Fat carries flavour brilliantly and coats your tongue. Without the oil, the spice hits you faster and fades quicker. What you've got is a sharper, more rustic table salsa. A rich, glossy restaurant sauce is a different dish and you know where to find it.
Refrying the blended salsa for boiling the raw vegetables
Cooking the blended salsa down in hot fat creates a heavy, velvet texture. By boiling the tomatoes and onions in water first, you soften them perfectly and get the right consistency without pouring oil into the blender.
What it costs you. You lose that deep, dark edge that comes from frying tomato puree in hot oil. The final result tastes fresher and brighter, which might feel slightly thin if you want a heavy, comforting sauce.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 56 | 22 |
| Protein | 0.9g | 0.9g |
| Fat | 4.2g | 0.4g |
| Saturated fat | 0.5g | 0g |
| Carbohydrate | 4.5g | 4.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 1.6g | 4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
The method is in the book
This is an undisputed victory. Salsa is free flavour if you leave the oil bottle alone. Yes, you sacrifice a tiny bit of gloss and the deep roasted notes that frying brings to the party, but the trade is absolutely worth it. You get a massive bowl of bright, punchy salsa that you can drown your food in, all while dropping the fat content down to zero. It's sharp, highly savoury and completely effortless to throw together on a weeknight.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback