Pebre
Pebre is a Chilean condiment with many local versions. This partial fresh tomato version follows Chile Travel’s ingredients; vinegar is optional. Sources document picante heat and variants but no fixed proportions or precise origin.
Chirmol (Guatemalan charred tomato salsa)
Chirmol · Chimol · Chirmol guatemalteco · Charred tomato salsa
Chirmol is a Guatemalan salsa of charred tomatoes with onion, cilantro and lime, served with grilled meat and toasted chiles.
A table salsa built on charred tomato
Chirmol is a Guatemalan salsa whose character comes from blackened tomatoes. The tomatoes are roasted or charred until the skins blister and darken, then cooled and chopped or mashed with onion, cilantro and lime. The result is smoky and savoury, with a fresh herbal top note. It is spooned over grilled meat, carne asada above all, and used as a side in many Guatemalan dishes.
It differs from a raw pico de gallo, which keeps the tomato bright and uncooked, and from a smooth cooked sauce, which is blended to a uniform texture. Chirmol keeps the chopped character of a fresh salsa and takes its smoke from the charring.
Sources for this section
Why the tomatoes are charred
Charring changes the tomato in two ways the recipe sources give: it reduces the sharp acidity and it deepens the flavour that the seasonings and chiles then carry. The degree of charring is a choice. The Guatemalan source describes a blackened skin, and the Milk Street version notes that broiling tomatoes alone gives uneven results, so onion is broiled with them.
A cook who wants a smoother salsa chops the tomato less, or lets the charred skins be partly removed before mixing.
Sources for this section
The name
The Guatemalan source derives the name from the Nahuatl chilmolli, meaning chili sauce. Other accounts say the word means smashed tomatoes, and one claims a Mayan origin meaning running nose. None of these is confirmed by a dated source, and the name should be read as uncertain.
The name is spelled chimol in some places and chirmol in others, and both appear in the Wikipedia article.
Sources for this section
Chiles and the table
The Guatemalan source names the smoked cobanero and the chile chilete as the chiles for chirmol. Its heat is optional, and it is customary to serve toasted chiles chilete on the side so each guest can add the amount they prefer. The source does not class chirmol as a hot sauce.
Chirmol is served with carne asada and grilled meats, and is also set beside salads, pork and chicken. Its spread into Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico is noted in the sources, but no source dates it there.
Sources for this section
History
A Guatemalan recipe source gives the name as derived from the Nahuatl chilmolli, meaning chili sauce. Other accounts derive it from words meaning smashed tomatoes, or from a Mayan term, and the sources do not settle which is right. No source read dates the salsa or its roasted-tomato method.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
TomatoesFresh, charred or roasted until blackened in places.
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources read.OnionChopped or diced; a wedge of onion is broiled in one modern version.
Amount not stated
CilantroChopped.
Amount not stated
Mint is named in some versions of the Wikipedia article.Mint (optional)Chopped.
Amount not stated
Named in one source; the Guatemalan source does not list it.Amount not stated
Cobanero chile (optional)Smoked; optional for heat.
Amount not stated
Served alongside toasted chiles chilete so each guest can add heat.Amount not stated
Black pepper (optional)
Amount not stated
Method
- Char or roast the tomatoes until the skins blacken in places. Roasting reduces acidity and deepens the flavour of the seasonings. Broiling tomatoes alone can give uneven results, so onion wedges may be broiled alongside them.
- Let the tomatoes cool, then chop or mash them to the texture you want. The salsa can be thick or thinner.
- Chop the onion and cilantro fine, and add mint if using.
- Combine the tomatoes with the onion, herbs, lime juice, salt and pepper.
- Serve as a sauce on carne asada or grilled meat, with toasted chiles on the side for the heat.
Conditions
Active time20 min
Places
Guatemala
Traditional use · Country evidenceNamed as a basic Guatemalan preparation. Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico are named in the same sources as places where it is also found; the sources do not date its spread.
Related
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Sources
WikipediaMethod · Culinary use · Variants
ChimolChimol or chirmol, a condiment on carne asada; diced tomato, bell pepper, onion, lime juice, salt, black pepper; used on carne asada, salads, pork and chicken breast; found in Central America
Cited in: A table salsa built on charred tomato; Why the tomatoes are charred; Chiles and the table
Recetas GuatemalaMethod · History · Culinary use
El chirmol: an incredible roasted tomato sauceCharred or roasted tomatoes reduce acidity; onion, cilantro, smoked cobanero or chile chilete; serve with toasted chiles chilete; Nahuatl chilmolli derivation; basic Guatemalan recipe; found in Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico
Cited in: A table salsa built on charred tomato; Why the tomatoes are charred; The name; Chiles and the table
Milk StreetMethod
Guatemalan Salsa (Chirmol)Grape or cherry tomatoes, red onion, jalapeños and chipotle in adobo broiled; root end of onion left on; yield 2 cups; about 1 hour total, 20 minutes active