Aji Verde Recipe

One of our most asked for recipes is the Aji Verde sauce served with our Roasted Half Chicken. Aji Verde, which translates to green sauce in Spanish, is a flavorful condiment originating from Peru. True Peruvian Aji Verde is made with aji amarillo and black mint but since we use regular cilantro and jalapenos, we would call this recipe more Peruvian-inspired. Aji verde can also be described as a kissing cousin to salsa verde but the key difference being mayonnaise: it’s what gives Aji Verde its characteristic creamy deliciousness. Seriously though - it’s so yummy you’ll want to drizzle it on everything from scrambled eggs and tacos to grilled salmon and sandwich wraps. If you’re worried about the heat level, you can control the intensity by removing or keeping the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno peppers.

RECIPE (makes about 1 cup)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (do not use Miracle Whip)

• 2 medium-to-large size jalapenos

• 2 garlic cloves

• 2 small bunches cilantro

• juice and zest of 1 lime

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapenos and dice finely. Cut off 1/4 of the bottom stems from the cilantro and chop the remaining leaves and tender stems. Mince the garlic. It’s important to chop everything up so it won’t get caught in your blender. Add mayonnaise, lime juice and zest to your blender. Blend until mayonnaise is slightly liquefied. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth (like a smoothie) but not overly processed where you can’t see specks of green leaves anymore. The ingredients may not blend at first but go slowly, scrape down the sides and it will eventually start blending.

NOTE ON BLENDER: A Nutri-Bullet, Ninja Bullet or Magic Bullet style blender works best here as it’s easier to get all of the sauce out.

Keep refrigerated for up to one week.