Aji Verde - a not so authentic Peruvian sauce, but VERY delicious

Aji Verde (Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce)

• https://cookieandkate.com/aji-verde-recipe/

• Author: Cookie and Kate
 
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
 
• Total Time: 10 minutes
 
• Yield: 1 1/4 cups 1x
 
• Category: Sauce
 
• Method: Food processor
 
• Cuisine: Peruvian

★★★★★

 

4.8 from 57 reviews

Learn how to make the best aji verde sauce! Aji verde is spicy Peruvian green sauce, made with cilantro, jalapeños, and a little mayonnaise and Parmesan. It is utterly irresistible drizzled onto tacos and more! Recipe yields about 1 1/4 cups.

My bunch of cilantro only came to 1 cup, and I made this vegan by using Follow Your Heart Veganaise, and substituting 2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast for the parmesan.  I used only one jalapeño and it was just perfect for my taste.  It is DELICIOUS.  Planning to serve on broccolini tomorrow.  I hope we don't use it up by then! I'll have lime on hand to brighten it up if needed.  I think you can use this on anything! 

SCALE

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro, mostly leaves but small stems are ok (from 1 big bunch of cilantro or 1 1/2 medium)
• 2 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed but reserved, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup (1 ounce) grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients. Blend until the cilantro has broken into very tiny pieces and the sauce is green and mostly smooth (no matter how long you blend it, it will still have some texture to it).
2. Taste, and adjust if necessary. This sauce is intentionally bold and spicy and I usually think it’s just right as written. However, if the flavor is too overwhelming, blend in 1 tablespoon of olive oil while running the food processor. If it’s not spicy enough, add some of the reserved jalapeño seeds and blend again. If it doesn’t have enough zip, add another tablespoon of lime juice and/or a pinch of salt.
3. Aji verde keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week.

NOTES

Make it dairy free: Simply omit the Parmesan. To temper the flavor a bit, drizzle in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil while running the food processor.

Make it vegan: I think you could replace the mayonnaise with equal parts vegan sour cream, and omit the cheese. Or for a similarly creamy cilantro sauce, try my avocado dip. You can add extra jalapeño if you want it to be more spicy.