guatemala is not really known for its food. a lot of the meals tend to revolve around black beans, eggs, and thick corn tortillas, which can get kind of boring. but lunch is the big meal and that is when guatemalans really do it up. awesome tamales (wrapped in banana leaf, or with potato instead of corn meal, or with mole, etc.), delicious seafood soups, chicken with pepian sauce, licuados, tacos, ceviche, chicken in cream sauce... mmmm... also, if you ever happen to get invited to a guatemalan wedding, go. the food will be amazing.
chirmol is a guatemalan salsa which you find pretty much everywhere at all times. it is like crack, you cannot stop eating this stuff on anything and everything. it is really easy to make and makes anything taste good. even the beans and eggs that i had to eat every night for 4 months. especially good is to get some crappy tough piece of steak, totally overcook it, then eat it wrapped in corn tortillas covered in chirmol. yum!
guatemalan chirmol
4-6 tomatoes (depending on size). i recommend romas but you can use whatever you want
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 large sweet onion, chopped
1/8 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1-2 serrano peppers (depending on how hot you want it to be)
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste
roast the tomatoes in a 425 degree oven with a little oil (any kind) for 25 min. meanwhile, heat the peppers in a pan on the stove until they get kind of brownish and blistered. let everything cool for a while.
put tomatoes, limes, salt, and chiles in a food processor (or a chirmolera if you are feeling tough and/or culturally authentic). pulse (or mash) until it is pretty smooth, but still somewhat chunky. add onion and garlic, pulse/mash a little more. add cilantro. mix. taste it, add more lime and/or salt if needed. let sit in the fridge overnight.
note: i sometimes get carried away on lime/salt/peppers. after it sits overnight, everything gets more potent and you do not want it to be too salty or spicy or whatever. i would maybe leave it even if it seems like it needs a little more of something and then taste it again the next day and see what you need.
interesting varations which you can try:
- roasting the onions and/or garlic
- not roasting the serranos
- substituting other hot peppers for serranos
- not adding cilantro
- roasting the tomatoes longer so they get really brown and potent
so many options! chirmol is so great that i use it in general as my go-to salsa for any occasion. it is great with any kind of meat, fish, vegetable, or just with tortilla chips. i also like it on eggs or quesadillas.
