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Burned-Scallion Crema

By Sam Sifton

Burned-Scallion Crema
Peden & Munk for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Amy Wilson.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(148)
Comments
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This is a hopped-up, smoky version of a traditional Mexican crema, thinner than sour cream, with more tang, and a slightly salty bite. I like it matched with slab-bacon tacos and it is marvelous drizzled over roasted cabbage or sweet potatoes. I've plopped it into black bean soup. It's a nice addition to a quesadilla, and I enjoy it on a burger enrobed with jack cheese and topped with pickled jalapenos. It's a versatile condiment. Try it with nachos in place of the traditional sour cream.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 1½ cups
  • 1bunch green scallions, trimmed and cut into large pieces
  • 1jalapeño pepper
  • 1cup sour cream
  • ½cup mayonnaise
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
  • 2limes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

223 calories; 22 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 235 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the scallions and jalapeño in a large dry sauté pan and cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the scallions and jalapeño have blackened at the edges, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Put the scallions and jalapeño in the bowl of a food processor, and blitz them with the juice of 1 lime, then add the sour cream and mayonnaise, and blitz the mixture until it is smooth and flecked with blackened bits. Season to taste with the salt and, if you’d like the mixture thinner, the juice of the second lime. Scrape into a bowl, and reserve.

Ratings

5 out of 5
148 user ratings
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Comments

Hut

Roast the peppers whole, rotating as need to get an even char. Once peppers cool a bit, you can remove the stem and or seeds before running through the blender. (Leave seeds in, if you want more punch from the jalapeños.)

Bracha

This Crema sounds amazing for my Chanukah Latkes

Madeline

Using this tonight with salmon, and love the other suggestions — this is a constant! And it can be made in a mini-cuisanart, I avoid digging out the full sized one whose weight exceeds its usefulness.

Cheryl

During prep, I got the amounts of sour cream and mayo mixed up and it was still divine!

Lubu

I made the mistake of not removing the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno after cooking, which resulted in a very spicy crema. Added juice of a clementine orange and half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. If I were to make this again, I would use a de-ribbed and seeded jalapeno (a small jalapeno, at that), and probably double the scallions. Overall, it may be easier and tastier to just add a canned chipotle in adobo to the lime/sour cream/mayo mixture.

Andrew

Made a half batch, subbed in poblanos for the jalapeno. Absolutely delicious and just the right amount for a couple of meals. I used a stick blender instead of a food processor which worked well.

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