Ají de Tomate de Arbol (Tree Tomato or Tamarillo Hot Sauce)
Ingredients
- 4 tomates de árbol tree tomatoes or 1 cup of frozen pulp
- ½ habanero or small red chili pepper
- 5 tablespoons chopped scallions
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and place the tree tomatoes in a blender with the hot pepper. Puree until well combine.
- Place in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to one week
Nutrition
Tomate de Arbol (Tree Tomato or Tamarillo) is a fruit that is shaped like an egg and is either dark yellow-orange or red. The red ones are more tart than the yellow-orange tree tomatoes. In Colombia we use them to make juice, marinades, salad dressings, and sauces for meats, seafood and poultry. They are also used to make jam and other desserts.
Here in the United States, I can’t find fresh tomato de árbol, so I buy frozen pulp or frozen whole tomatoes at my local Latin market and they work perfect for this recipe.
Ají de Tomate de Arbol (Tree Tomato or Tamarillo Hot Sauce) is a simple sauce that goes great on grilled seafood and poultry, gives soups that extra zest, and makes a great dipping sauce for patacones or plantain chips. You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Buen provecho!
Alan Bowman
You are fortunate that in the US you can get many of the Colombian ingredients. Here in Spain we are not so fortunate and any that we can get by mail order, either from US or Colombia are heavily hit with Customs duty.
Marcia Adatto
My neighbor here in Ecuador just handed me some of these that grow in sight from my kitchen window. I have seen them many times but have never enjoyed. Thanks for this information~!!