While living in Cuba, historian, author and chef Maricel Presilla crushed the garlic for this sauce with a mortar and pestle that had belonged to her great-grandmother. This mojo marinade recipe can be used as a marinade and/or sauce for shrimp, pork or chicken.
Mojo (Cuban Garlic-Citrus Marinade)
A staple of Cuban cuisine, this garlicky bitter-orange sauce is often used to flavor roast pork.
Yield: makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 small head of garlic, peeled and separated
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1⁄4 cup fresh bitter orange juice or 4 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 4 tbsp. fresh orange juice
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
- 1⁄4 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 pinch dried oregano, crushed
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Crush together garlic cloves and salt with a mortar and pestle, and put into a medium bowl.
- Stir in fresh bitter orange juice or fresh lime juice and fresh orange juice, olive oil, chopped fresh oregano, cumin, crushed dried oregano, and salt to taste.
