Ingredients
1
teaspoon cumin seeds
10
medjool dates, pitted
⅓
cup freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste (from 2 to 3 limes)
2
jalapeños, stemmed and thinly sliced (remove seeds if desired for a milder sauce)
1
tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
6
garlic cloves, finely grated
1
teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
4
cups loosely packed cilantro leaves and tender stems (from about 2 large bunches)
Preparation
- Place cumin in a small skillet and set over medium-high heat. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, or until seeds just begin to change color and emit a faint aroma. Immediately dump seeds into a spice grinder or mortar, and grind to a powder.
- Place dates, lime juice, jalapeños, ginger, garlic, salt and cumin into the bowl of a food processor and pulse, stopping periodically to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Try to get this mixture as uniformly puréed as possible, though a little texture is fine.
- Add the cilantro and continue to pulse to break it down. Then, add as little water as possible — about a tablespoon — to get the blades moving and turn the mixture into the sauce. Continue scraping the sides and pulsing until no large bits of stem or leaf remain and the sauce is a lovely, almost-but-not-quite-smooth texture. Taste, and add lime juice and salt as needed. Cover and refrigerate until serving. This sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.