Cuban Mojo Criollo Recipe
If you are looking to add a burst of taste to your meals, try using some homemade Cuban mojo. This zesty Cuban sauce is perfect for drizzling over your favorite veggies, marinating tofu, spicing up tacos, or adding to grain bowls.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup sour orange juice fresh or bottled (see notes and post)*
- ¼ cup olive oil divided
Instructions
- Mortar & Pestle: Place garlic, salt, peppercorns, and a teaspoon of olive oil in the mortar. Mash the ingredients until it's a smooth paste.
- Add Ingredients: If your mortar is small transfer the garlic paste to a jar or bowl and combine the remaining ingredients.
- Whisk or shake: If using a bowl or large mortar, whisk the ingredients together while adding the oil until well combined. If using a jar, close the lid tightly and shake vigorously to emulsify the mixture.
- Adjust seasoning: Taste the mojo and adjust the salt according to your preference.
- Refrigerate or use as a sauce: You can use the mojo immediately to marinate veggies or tofu. Allow them to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can use it as a dipping sauce for tostones or drizzle it over grilled vegetables.
Video
Notes
*Sour oranges, also known as Seville oranges or bitter oranges, are hard to find unless you live in an area with a strong Latin American or Mediterranean cuisine. Your best bet is to look for bottles of bitter oranges found at some major grocery chains in the international section or definitely at Latin American supermarkets.
Conchita, Iberia, Badia, or Goya are all major brands that bottle bitter oranges.
For a homemade sour orange juice substitute, mix ½ cup fresh orange juice with ¼ cup lemon juice and 1 ¼ cup lime juice. This combination approximates the tart, bitter, and tangy flavor profile of the Seville/sour oranges.
Tip: Adding a smidgen of olive oil when mashing garlic in the mortar helps to create a smoother paste and can enhance the extraction of the garlic’s essential oils, making the flavor more robust and well-distributed in the mojo criollo. I find it also keeps the garlic from popping out when mashing.
If you're using the sauce as a dip or dressing and the garlic is too overpowering for you, you can boil the sauce for about 20 minutes for a more subdued garlic flavor. Keep in mind, however, that the potency of the garlic generally calms down as it sits in the refrigerator.
Nutritional profile is only an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 538kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 2336mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.4g | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg
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