Burned-Scallion Crema

By Sam Sifton

Published October 28, 2017

  • Peden & Munk for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Amy Wilson.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(168)
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

  • 1 bunch green scallions, trimmed and cut into large pieces

  • 1 jalapeño pepper

  • 1 cup sour cream

  • ½ cup mayonnaise

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

  • 2 limes

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

6 grams carbs; 30 milligrams cholesterol; 223 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 235 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein; 2 grams sugar

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.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
168 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.)

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.

Bracha

This Crema sounds amazing for my Chanukah Latkes

Susan L

I love this recipe and usually make NYT recipes exactly as written the first time. But I didn’t have sour cream on hand and I didn't need the full recipe, so here’s what I did: ~1 bunch green scallions ~1 jalapeño ~1/4 cup crème fraîche ~1/4 cup mayonnaise ~1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste) ~lime juice to taste I also blackened the scallions and jalapeño on an indoor grill. Delicious!

Chaz

Whenever we make anything Mexican, I whip this up. Easy, flavorful, and beats the tar out of regular sour cream. Great for so many other things, too!

Alioop

This was excellent! Served with roasted veggie fajitas & M.R. Shulman’s salsa fresca. Green parts of scallions charred super fast. I’d do those separately next time. Don’t hate me but I added a bit of onion powder to amplify the scallion flavor and I would definitely do that again.

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