Anytime I have the grill fired up, I always think, “What do I have for vegetables that I can grill off?”

In this case I had picked up some tomatoes but didn’t have a recipe in mind to use them. So why not char them on the grill with some onions to make a salsa!

Hatch Chiles

I had some hatch chiles that I froze last season, so wouldn’t you know it, this chunky salsa turned out great and goes well on any application you want to use it.

Try it on Grilled Meats, Tacos, Burritos or as a Dip for some Chips. It is delicious on some eggs as well!

A couple of years ago for my birthday, my daughter picked up a molcajete from a local Mexican Supermarket that is not too far from our house. I had used it a couple of times for some spices but hadn’t used it for salsa or other applications.

Its a Workout

For this recipe I was excited to use it to make a chunky salsa. I will tell you that it was a workout to grind down the ingredients but the finished salsa was delicious with chunks of tomato, hatch chiles, onions and cilantro.

You can use a food processor or chop all ingredients small to get a similar result but grinding together the ingredients allows the flavors to combine in a unique way.

When is tomatillo season going to be here? I can’t wait to make some Tomatillo Salsa with Avocado in the Molcajete!

The Molcajete

Mexico

The word Molcajete comes from the Náhuatl language in Mexico meaning ‘sauce and bowl’. Many types you may find are made from lava rock which is traditional material found in the the central Mexican highlands.

The lava rock provides texture to the bowl and allows additional grinding when breaking down ingredients.

Molcajetes have been around for thousands of years and can be traced back to use by the Aztec and Maya and probably since the stone ages.

Japan

Other cultures use similar bowls and a tool to crush and breakdown ingredients, in Japan they use a Suribachi and Surikogi, typically a clay bowl that has texture on the inside but is not glazed to provide a rough texture.

Indonesia

Indonesia uses the Cobek which has a curved handle to the pounding implement typically made from lava rock or stone.

Whether they be form Southeast Asia, Africa, Japan or Central America the main use for them is the same.

Mortar and Pestle

For many of us, we may be more familiar with the Mortar and Pestle, the bowl and the implement to grind and crush our foods.

Mortar and Pestles have been around as long as other countries versions, think of the caveman pounding one rock on top of another to break open a nut or grinding down a grain to cook something.

Mortar and Pestle can be made of stone, wood, ceramic, lava rock, or even marble.

The process of breaking down ingredients may be the same but depending on the texture of the bowl and the ingredient it may take more time and effort to grind.

Pick up a Molcajete or Mortar and Pestle to have another method of making salsas, grinding and crushing spices. There are many types available, find what fits your needs best.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Enjoy!