Salsa de molcajete

Season a new molcajete: grind white rice in it until the rice turns black, and repeat for three rice treatments until the pores are filled and the surface is lighter.

Grind a dozen garlic cloves with a pinch of salt into a smooth paste, working it up the sides so the oil penetrates the stone; rinse and repeat with a little less garlic.

For the salsa, take one tomato, a sliver of white onion, one clove of garlic and one serrano.

Broil the tomato, onion, garlic and chili until they take colour, pulling the garlic and chili early since they brown faster.

Rough chop the broiled vegetables, chopping the onion more finely because it is hardest to break up.

Grind everything in the molcajete with a little lime juice and a few cilantro leaves.