Mojo Picon is the well-known Canarian sauce, typical of the Canary Islands (Spain), and is the essential accompaniment for the famous wrinkled potatoes.
It is said that the word “mojo” comes from Portuguese, from the word “molho” which translates to “sauce” in Spanish.
The origin of Canarian sauce dates back to the 19th century when there was significant trade with spices, which influenced the mixture and use of spices in the original recipe.
Many Canarian recipes are bathed and seasoned with different types of mojo. The “papas arrugadas” (wrinkled potatoes) with salt, or better known as “papas arrugás,” fish such as “cherne” (wreckfish), known in the islands as Cherne, where we can taste Cherne with green mojo, meats, or even cheese are seasoned with mojo to delight our palates.
Somewhat spicy, but with a bit of a kick, that’s the key to making it “picón” (spicy). The ingredients are numerous and varied, where we always have oil, vinegar, and garlic.
Then we add, depending on the type of mojo we want to make, parsley, saffron, cilantro, bell pepper, peppers, cumin, paprika, and a wide variety of herbs, nuts, spices, tomato, and even avocado.
It is said that there are several dozen mojos, and in fact, we can take the original recipe as far as our imagination and taste buds allow us.
We can prepare traditional mojos, or we can use mojo to mix with other sauces and create new creations, such as a white mojo or a yellow mojo. We can also make dressings based on mojo and use it to cook meats or fish in the oven, browning the food with a crust of this sauce.
The Canarian mojos, which are not the only ones, also exist in Latin America. Depending on the specific Canary Island they come from, they may have different ingredients.
Ingredients for the traditional mojo picón recipe
With the following ingredients, we will have a portion for four people, who will be able to enjoy a generous amount of mojo. The main ingredients for the original recipe are:
- One cup of extra virgin olive oil.
- Three tablespoons of high-quality wine vinegar.
- Eight cloves of garlic.
- Three or four picona peppers*, dried chili peppers, or cayenne peppers.
- Two generous tablespoons of ground cumin.
- One tablespoon of sweet paprika.
- Salt to taste, fine or coarse.
*Picona peppers are a typical variety from the Canary Islands. Obviously, this ingredient might be harder to find if you are not from there, but you can substitute it with ñoras or red bell peppers and a little bit of cayenne to add the spicy touch.
Preparation of Canarian mojo picón
You have several ways to prepare mojo picón, depending on how you usually make your sauce recipes. You can prepare it by hand as it was done in the past, using a mortar and patience. You can also use a food processor that can handle liquids, a blender, or a Thermomix. However, I recommend preparing it with an immersion blender if you have one.
Here is the recipe for mojo picón using a Thermomix, and now we will explain the easy process using an immersion blender.
Process for making mojo picón using a food processor
The first step is to clean some ingredients. So, we open the peppers and remove the seeds. We also peel the garlic cloves. Both go into the food processor bowl.
Now, we add the paprika, cumin, vinegar, and salt. We start blending everything, using the vinegar as the liquid to help mix all the ingredients, creating the base mixture. If you’re brave, as you should be as a good cook, you can taste a little bit and see if you need to adjust the flavor with any ingredient. I warn you that it will have a strong flavor because it doesn’t have oil yet.
Now comes the moment to add the olive oil. We can do it in two steps. We add half of it and see how the mojo thickens, then, as if we were making mayonnaise, we gradually add more until we reach the right consistency.
Now, we can taste it again and make any necessary adjustments to the salt. It’s ready to be enjoyed, so don’t put it in the fridge before eating. Delicious!
Preparation of mojo picón by hand using a mortar
- Clean the peppers from the seeds, peel the garlic cloves, and put everything in the mortar.
- Add the salt and cumin and start grinding until everything is well crushed and a paste is formed.
- Add the paprika and continue grinding.
- When everything is well ground and mixed, we add the oil and vinegar, and continue grinding in the mortar until everything is perfectly blended.