Name: Aji Verde (Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: ½ cup mayonnaise; 2 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro, mostly leaves but small stems are ok (from 1 big bunch of cilantro or 1 ½ medium); 2 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed but reserved, roughly chopped; 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; ⅓ cup (1 ounce) grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese; 1 tablespoon lime juice; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Ingredients

1 serv.

½ cup mayonnaise
2 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro, mostly leaves but small stems are ok (from 1 big bunch of cilantro or 1 ½ medium)
2 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed but reserved, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
⅓ cup (1 ounce) grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Tap a step to mark it done

1 In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients. Blend until the cilantro has broken into very tiny pieces and the sauce is green and mostly smooth (no matter how long you blend it, it will still have some texture to it).
2 Taste, and adjust if necessary. This sauce is intentionally bold and spicy and I usually think it’s just right as written. However, if the flavor is too overwhelming, blend in 1 tablespoon of olive oil while running the food processor. If it’s not spicy enough, add some of the reserved jalapeño seeds and blend again. If it doesn’t have enough zip, add another tablespoon of lime juice and/or a pinch of salt.
3 Aji verde keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week.