Toasted Cumin Lime Vinaigrette

This Toasted Cumin Lime Vinaigrette is my final argument to convince you of the worth of a molcajete.

Not only will your molcajete smoosh your ingredients for otherworldly salsas and guacamole, but it also makes it easy to grind up spices.

Spices like…freshly toasted cumin for a cumin-lime vinaigrette that you can whip up in a matter of minutes.

Toasted Cumin Lime Vinaigrette Recipe

There are lots of helpful details on how to use a molcajete in this post.  If you already have a mortar and pestle then you’re in luck as they are the same thing.

You’ll get an upgrade in flavor if you toast the cumin seeds first.  So we’ll add 4 teaspoons of cumin seeds to a dry skillet over medium heat.

It will only take 1-2 minutes for the heat to activate the aromatic oils in the cumin seeds; this will substantially liven up the flavor of the cumin.

Add the toasted cumin seeds to a molcajete.

Grind the seeds down to a powder and set aside.  It will only take 10-15 seconds as the seeds are no match for the weight of the temolote (pestle).

We’re also going to give a quick grind to 2 cloves of garlic and 1/4 jalapeno.  The jalapeno will give the vinaigrette just a whisper of heat.

Add this garlic-jalapeno mixture to a mixing bowl along with the cumin,  1/2 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper (approx. 1/2 teaspoon), and 3 tablespoons of lime juice.

You’ll get about 1.5-2 tablespoons of juice from a single lime, so 2 limes should do the trick if you want to skip measuring it out.

We’ll also add a splash of red wine vinegar.

I’m making my way through On Cooking and it’s got some good notes on using citrus juices in salad dressings.   A 3:1 ratio is a good place to start for citrus based dressings, but most likely it will be on the oily side because citrus juices aren’t as concentrated as vinegars.  Yes, you could add more citrus juice but an easy workaround is to add a splash of vinegar.

This is a good way to balance out the dressing without adding more citrus flavor and that’s what we are doing in this dressing.

(Note:  On Cooking is a culinary behemoth that’s used in culinary schools across the country.  As with most school textbooks it is ridiculously expensive; the current version is $139!!  But you can get older, used editions for much cheaper, and they still have the vast majority of the content of the current edition.  For example, I bought a used third edition through Amazon, which is 1216 pages long, for $4 plus $4 shipping — 8 bucks!!)

Whisk these ingredients together and then gradually add the 1/2 cup olive oil.

Take a taste for seasoning.  I added another pinch of salt but was happy with the oil-to-acid ratio.   If your batch tastes oily then you can add more citrus or vinegar.  If it tastes tart and limey then you can add more oil.

And just like that, in matter of minutes, you’ve got a vibrant toasted cumin lime vinaigrette that will be a star in all sorts of Latin-tinged dishes.

As in…tacos salads, quinoa salads, and definitely in our recent Avocado Salad.

Be sure to give it a good shake before using as the cumin prefers to rest on the bottom until it’s called into action.

And don’t forget to give a shout-out to your molcajete for letting that cumin blossom into its full potential.  Ahh molcajetes…

Buen Provecho.