Marinades, Sauces, Rubs & Salsas

Pebre

Pebre is the southernmost member of a family of fresh salsas that includes Colombian aji and Brazilian molho à campanha.

Pebre

Recipe Notes

Advance Prep: Can be made up to 4 hours in advance
Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 red ripe tomatoes
1 poblano pepper, or 2 Anaheim peppers
2 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, preferable Chilean
Juice of 1 lemon, or more to taste
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

Recipe Steps

Step 1: Cut each tomato in half and wring out the pulp and seeds. For a milder pebre, seed the pepper(s); personally, I’d leave them in. Very finely chop the tomatoes, pepper(s), and scallions. A Chilean would do this by hand, but you can also use a food processor, running the machine in short bursts. If you use a processor, cut the vegetables into 1-inch pieces before processing.

Step 2: Transfer the chopped vegetables to a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, olive oil, and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste and more lemon juice as necessary; the pebre should be highly seasoned.

Step 3: You can make the pebre up to 4 hours ahead; taste it for seasoning before serving, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary.