Chilean salsa (pebre)

“This fresh, beautifully balanced salsa is one of those all-purpose additions to a barbecue that you’ll make again and again. I love that you use the stalks as well as the leaves of coriander, but it still feels strange adding boiling water to a salad mix. But you know what? It works! Serve with Chilean marinated pork belly.” Maeve O'Meara, Food Safari Fire

• makes

  250

• prep

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 white onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 long green chilli or 2 aji chileno chillies, with seeds, finely chopped
• 2 bunches coriander (cilantro), washed
• sea salt
• 50 ml (1¾ fl oz) red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp red chilli sauce (if possible, use aji chileno or sriracha sauce)
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1¼ tbsp boiling water

Instructions

Combine the onion and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes and chilli to the bowl.

Roughly chop the coriander; just chop through to the roots as these add a different texture and freshness to the pebre. Add the coriander to the mix and season with sea salt.

Add the vinegar and mix well. Add the chilli sauce and combine thoroughly. Add the lemon juice and, finally, gently pour the boiling water into the mix­ture. This takes away the sharpness of the garlic and helps turn this pebre into a delicious accompaniment. Season to taste.

Recipe from Food Safari Fire by Maeve O'Meara (Hardie Grant, hbk, $55).  Photography by Toufic Charabati.

Food Safari Fire starts Thursday 7 January 2016 at 8pm on SBS. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.