Chiltomate — Yucatecan charred tomato-habanero sauce

Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Chiltomates name combines chile (chile) and tomate (tomato) — the two essential ingredients.

Chiltomate is the fundamental table salsa of the Yucatán Peninsula — a simple but intensely flavoured sauce of charred tomatoes and habanero chiles, made without drying, soaking, or elaborate spicing. The technique is pure: whole tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and habanero chiles (Capsicum chinense) are placed directly on a hot comal or cast iron pan and cooked, turning occasionally, until deeply charred on all sides — the tomatoes should be blackened and collapsed, the habaneros charred and blistered. The charred vegetables are blended (without peeling), seasoned with salt, and the sauce is used immediately. The habaneros unique floral tropical fruit aroma — distinct from any other chile species — combined with the bitter depth of the charred tomato skin creates a sauce of extraordinary personality. Chiltomate is the condiment for cochinita pibil tacos, is used as a base for Yucatecan rice, and is stirred into bean soups.

Chiltomate has a vivid, aggressive flavour: bitter smoke from the charred tomato skin, fruity floral heat from the habanero, and a clean fresh tomato acidity underneath — one of the most distinctive salsas in Mexican cuisine.