Recipes and variants

There is not one mojo: there are many, almost as many as there are cooks. But, if the family must be put in order, a few “canonical” ones are recognised. The reds are made with pepper and chilli: the mild red, gentle and aromatic, and the mojo picón, the most famous beyond the islands, with its character and its fire. The greens owe their colour to the herbs: the coriander one, intense and fresh, ideal for fish, and the parsley one, its milder variant. And then there are those with an island character of their own: almond mojo, dense and with a hint of sweetness, especially rooted in La Palma, and the boiled mojo, which is cooked before serving.

Each mojo has its dish —the green one calls for fish; the red one, potatoes and meats; the almond one, grilled cheese—, but all share the same founding gesture: the mortar. Because mojo, before it is a recipe, is a movement of the wrist.