Recipe: Salsa Macha Potato Salad

If you’ve never had salsa macha, it’s a delicious oil-based salsa from Veracruz, Mexico, where my abuelita is from. If you’ve never had potato salad, well, then I have other concerns. Potato salad has its origins in Germany, and my mom is German, so this dish really represents the mix that is me. Over the holiday break, I decided to do something a little wild and marry these two food loves of mine together. It became a fantastic creation that the whole family loved. It’s easy, stores well, AND, of course, we’re going to make more salsa macha than we really need for the potato salad, so you’ll have it to put on top of pretty much anything for the weeks ahead.

Everyone has their own salsa macha flair, but my twist with shallots, cashews, and fresh fresno is definitely the best I’ve had. I especially love it on steak, tacos, and eggs. Packed with flavor and healthy fats, this is a perfect side dish to bring to your next pot luck or party. Keep reading for the recipe!

Salsa Macha Potato Salad

Serves: 8-10 people

Time: 1 hr total, ~20 mins of actual hands-on prep time

What you’ll need:

2 lbs baby gold potatoes, well rinsed and scrubbed (no need to peel, which is why I love them!)

8 oz Sir Kensington’s mayo, about 3/4 of the 12oz jar

2 tbs dijon mustard

1 tsp salt

1 bunch green onion, chopped thin

For the salsa macha:

2 dried guajillo chiles

2 dried pasilla negra chiles

6 dried chiles de árbol (these are the spicy guys, so you can minimize these if you don’t want as much heat)

** rinse all of your chiles and pat dry to remove biterness**

1 fresh Fresno pepper (you could sub a red jalapeño here if needed)

3 shallots, peeled and halved

1 small head of garlic, or about 5-6 cloves, peels and smashed

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/4 cup raw cashews

salt to taste, recommend about 1/2 a tsp

16.9 fl oz / 500 mL sunflower oil

To prepare the salsa macha, heat the oil on in a saucepan on medium-high, reaching a frying temperature of at least 325 degrees F before adding the salsa contents (in other words, if you add a test ingredient and it immediately bubbles, you’re good to go). Once hot, add in all ingredients except for the salt. Allow all ingredients to fry consistently for about 7-8 minutes, or until you see the shallots, garlic, and peanuts turning golden brown. It should look something like this:

Once you get to this stage, turn off the heat and allow to cool for at least 30 mins. Trust me, you do not want to put hot oil into a blender. Once cooled, snip the stems off the chiles, and add the entirety of the ingredients to a blender, as well as the salt. Pulse the blender until all ingredients are combined, but you still have chunky bits for texture. It should look something like this:

y voilà, you have beautiful salsa macha that you can store in the fridge for up to two weeks. If I’m being honest, I store mine well over a month, as the oil preserves the ingredients really wonderfully. Leave it out for about 10 minutes before use so it’s not too chilly.

Now that we have our salsa macha ready to go, let’s get those potatoes working. Bring a pot of about 2-3qts of salted water to a rolling boil. Add potatoes and boil for about 10 minutes, or until you can easily pierce through the potatoes with a fork. Strain potatoes and allow them to cool in a large bowl for about 20 minutes (unless you want a really warm potato salad, which I totally support). Once cooled, add in 1/4 cup of your well-stirred salsa macha, half of the green onion, and the remaining ingredients. Gently combine all ingredients, being careful not to smush too many of the potatoes. Transfer to a pretty party dish, and sprinkle the top with the remaining green onion. That’s it, you’re done! It’s really that simple. The vibrant red of the salsa macha will tint the potato salad, giving you an end result that should look something like this:

que rico!

buen provecho, and let me know what you think of this recipe!

xoxo, nata