Ají criollo
A fresh, uncooked Ecuadorian table sauce of hot pepper, cilantro, garlic and lime, served with most everyday dishes.
Traditional method
Ecuadorian salsa de maní
Salsa de maní · Salsa de maní · Ecuadorian peanut sauce
A warm, creamy peanut sauce thickened with milk and seasoned with onion, cumin and achiote, served over potatoes and llapingachos in Ecuador.
A warm peanut table sauce
Salsa de maní is a warm, creamy peanut sauce from Ecuador. It is the classic topping for llapingachos, the Ecuadorian potato patties, and is also spooned over boiled yuca or potatoes.
Unlike the sharper or hotter peanut sauces found elsewhere, it is mild and creamy, thickened with milk and seasoned with cumin, achiote and onion.
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Peanut base and milk
The traditional base is freshly roasted peanuts. The page offers unsweetened peanut butter as a quicker option, and suggests roasting whole peeled peanuts and blending them with milk if peanut butter is not available.
Milk loosens the peanut base and gives the sauce its body. Half is whisked into the peanut butter first; the rest goes in with the refrito and simmers for about ten minutes.
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The refrito
Onion, achiote, cumin and salt are softened in oil or butter to make a refrito before the peanut mixture goes in. Achiote gives the sauce its colour; cumin gives it an earthy note.
Cilantro, chopped egg, hot pepper and minced onion are added at the end. The egg and the hot pepper are optional.
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Serving
The sauce is served warm. Llapingachos de mote, hominy patties filled with cheese or pork, are a suggested pairing, as are boiled yuca and potatoes cut into pieces and warmed in the sauce with crumbled quesillo or queso fresco on top.
The page also suggests the sauce with other vegetables and meats.
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Variations and storage
A spicy version adds finely chopped hot peppers or ground chili powder. The page advises against freezing, because peanut butter does not freeze well, and gives no refrigeration time.
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History
The page presents the sauce as a classic Ecuadorian table condiment for potatoes and llapingachos. No earlier date is given.
Ingredients
Yield 2 cups · Scaling: source batch only
Peanut butterUnsweetened; freshly roasted peanuts are the traditional base, blended with milk.
177 mL¾ cup as recorded
Roasted whole peanuts may replace it.MilkDivided into two half-cup portions.
237 mL1 cup as recorded
OnionWhite onion, finely diced for the base; three tablespoons minced for garnish.
118 mL½ cup as recorded
CuminGround.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
AchioteGround, cooked with the onion.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Vegetable oilPeanut oil or butter for the refrito.
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
CilantroFinely chopped.
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Hard-boiled egg (optional)Finely chopped.
1
Hot pepper (ají) (optional)Finely minced, optional.
1
to taste
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Peanut is a major allergen; say so wherever the sauce is served.
The page advises against freezing, because peanut butter does not freeze well.
- Whisk the peanut butter with half a cup of the milk until it loosens and dissolves.
- Heat the oil or butter in a pan to make a refrito. Add the diced onion, achiote, cumin and salt and cook until the onion softens.
- Add the peanut mixture and the remaining half cup of milk.
- Stir well and simmer for about ten minutes.
- Stir in the chopped egg if used, the cilantro, the hot pepper if used, and the minced onion for garnish.
- Serve warm.
Conditions
Yield2 cups
Active time15 min
Places
Ecuador
Traditional use · Country evidenceDocumented as a classic Ecuadorian table sauce; the source gives no local origin within the country.
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Sources
Laylita's RecipesMethod · Background
Salsa de maní (Ecuadorian peanut sauce)Ingredients and method
Serving with llapingachos and potatoes
Traditional fresh peanut base
Freezing advice
Cited in: A warm peanut table sauce; Peanut base and milk; The refrito; Serving; Variations and storage