Recipe
Salsa roja with Mexican oregano
- Herb:
- Mexican oregano Lippia graveolens
- Method:
- Culinary use
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 30 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Seed 3 dried guajillo chillies, toast briefly in a dry pan and soak 15 minutes in hot water.
- Blend with 4 charred tomatoes, half an onion, 2 garlic cloves and a pinch of salt.
- Pour into a small pan, add a teaspoon of Mexican oregano crumbled between your palms and simmer 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and lime; serve with tacos, beans or eggs.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 1 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano per 500 ml of salsa
- Solvent:
- brief boiling in a tomato base
- Shelf life:
- 5 days in the fridge
- Target compounds:
- essential oil (carvacrol, thymol) passes into the fat and water in the sauce; rubbing the leaf between the palms releases more aroma
Notes
A kitchen recipe with no particular risks. Mexican oregano is unrelated to European oregano — it tastes sharper and more citrusy and pairs with chilli.
Why it works
Carvacrol and thymol from Mexican oregano oil dissolve in the fat and hot water of the sauce and survive a short simmer; crumbling the leaf breaks the oil glands. The catalogue holds no medicinal claim for Mexican oregano.
Literature
- Mexican cooking — salsa roja (traditional recipe) — Culinary method; no health claim.
Related
Mexican oregano — Herb card
Culinary use — Processing method detail