Pebre

In Chile this all-purpose salsa is a big favourite, often served with pumpkin fritters and some good local wine. It’s also an excellent accompaniment to barbecued meat and fish. Pebre includes a large quantity of onion, but the recipe calls for soaking the onion in sugar, then salt, which softens the raw flavour. (Instead of onion you could use a bunch of finely chopped chives.)

• prep

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 medium onions, diced
• 2 tbsp raw sugar
• salt
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• ½ green capsicum (or red or yellow for a more colourful salsa), diced
• 3–4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 green Chilean chillies, seeded and finely chopped (or use Chilean chilli paste)
• 2–3 bunches coriander, finely chopped (including stems)
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
• dried oregano
• pepper

Standing time 20 minutes

Makes 4 cups

Instructions

Put the onion in a colander and sprinkle with the sugar and some hot water (not boiling). Mix with your hands and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Rinse the onion and mix in a handful of salt. Transfer to a bowl, fill with cold water and leave to stand for a further 10 minutes, then tip the onion back into the colander, rinse again and drain well.

Combine the tomato, capsicum, garlic, chilli and coriander in a bowl. Add the onion, lemon juice, vinegar and oil and mix well. Sprinkle with a little oregano and add salt and pepper to taste.

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.