Ají Sauce a colorful chopped salsa. Colombian staple sauce. Sauce recipe

 

What is Aji Colombiano? Which is the Colombian sauce?: The Colorful chopped Salsa. El Aji Colombiano.

“Ají Colombiano” (Colombian Aji) is a staple sauce in Colombian gastronomy.  It is delicious to eat it with good creole or salty potatoes.  It is also served to accompany stuffed potatoes, fried or boiled yucca, empanadas, soups, grilled meats, “pasteles” (pies) made of potato or yuca, arepas and “patacones” (fried green salty plantains). Young and old enjoy it alike!!

The "Aji colombiano" is a small sizes bell pepper. Lots of aromas, sweet and tangy. It looks like a chili, but it is not spicy. In general grocery stores you'll find a very similar product under the name "sweet peppers", "mini peppers" or "mini poivrons".

How is Colombian Aji sauce made? The Aji recipe.

This is quite an easy-to-make recipe.  The level of difficulty to prepare this delicious Colombian sauce depends exclusively on your skill with the knife, since the ingredients should not be blended. The idea is that everything may be finely chopped, to achieve a result like the one in the photo and when you see it - and savor it - transport you to any corner or house in such a special South American Country where "the risk, is that you want to stay"

Aji	100%	130g
Cilantro	12%	15g
Green onions	38%	50g
Tomato	54%	70g
Poblano pepper	19%	25g
Lime juice	28%	36g
Vinegar	65%	85g
Salt	4%	5g
Water	77%	100g

This amount should provide a jar full of wonderfully sauce. If you are not eating it all in the next week or so, consider using only half the amount of ingredients.

How to prepare Colombian Aji?

1)     After carefully washing all the vegetables, let them dry. You can use a strainer or absorbent paper; the idea is that they do not wither.

2)      Set the vegetables and other ingredients, that is:

a.      Peel (or not) the tomatoes -this is personal taste- The tomatoes must be ripe, but firm.

b.      Devein and extract the seeds of the aji peppers and from the poblano pepper (remember to protect your hands or follow our Tips for Handling Chili Peppers.

c.       Remove the finish from the onions.

d.      Squeeze the lemon juice, taking care not to squeeze excessively so as not to reach the inner white area, which causes it to become bitter.

3)    Cut all the vegetables as finely as possible. In the case of cilantro, you can include the stems and in the case of onion, the green part as well.

The acidity level can be regulated with the amounts of vinegar and lemon juice. As well as the intensity of piquant, with the type and amount of chili you use.

What are we looking for in the Colombian Aji sauce?

The result must be in appearance a colorful chopped sauce. Regarding flavor, a well-balanced but tasteful sauce with a predominance flavor and aroma from the aji. As always -for both look and taste- the fresher the ingredients, the better.

Although it is a pickle sauce, vinegar based, this sauce should not have a tangy flavor nor hi acidity. On the contrary, it must be a refreshing sauce in both taste and look.

Trick and tips for authentic Colombian Salsa de Ají o simple Ají?

Pelling the tomatoes: deep the tomatoes in boiling water for some 30 seconds. Retrieve, dry and it will be easier to peel.

TriChopped. chop each ingredient separately. Go as small as possible. This will provide the rustic texture but will keep colors separate.

Spicy, although it is not traditionally a spicy sauce, add a spicy chili to taste. We like the poblano because of light no perdurable flavor and aroma.

If available, use the cilantro roots. Yes, chop the roots as well. It does make a huge difference.

Keep it fresh: fresher ingredients the better, keep all ingredients as fresh as possible.

Keep it small, prepare often: don't prepare to much ají sauce. It doesn’t last too long, since it is a mild pickle sauce, so once the fermentation process starts, it will change the flavor. Prepare small batches, consider cutting the ingredients amounts we explained above in half the amounts.  

Enjoy this Colombian delightfulness with whatever you like the most, and learn first handed one of the many reasons why the only risk in visiting this beautiful South American Country, is to stay in it.