By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on October 3, 2026
Serves 2
134 cal · 20 min
Poblano-Cilantro Relish
Recipe GLPR611438460dd831
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Average rating: 4.3 (1)
A vibrant, smoky relish made from charred poblano peppers and roasted garlic, blended with fresh cilantro, fish sauce, and lime. The combination of smoky, savory, and bright flavors makes this condiment perfect for tacos, grilled fish, or as a topping for any Mexican-inspired dish.
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Ingredients
3 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 poblano chiles
1 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Directions
Preheat your grill or grill pan to moderately high heat for at least 10 minutes. Thread the unpeeled garlic cloves onto a skewer to prevent them from falling through the grates. Place the skewered garlic and poblano peppers directly on the hot grill.
Grill the garlic and peppers, turning them frequently with tongs, until the garlic is soft and deeply charred all over (about 5 minutes) and the poblano peppers are blackened and blistered on all sides (about 10 minutes). The skins should be almost completely charred.
Transfer the grilled garlic and peppers to a plate and let them cool for a few minutes until they are cool enough to handle. Peel away the papery skin from the garlic cloves. Remove the stems from the poblano peppers and scrape away the blackened skin. Remove and discard the majority of the seeds and white veins from inside the peppers, then cut the peeled pepper flesh into strips.
Add the peeled garlic cloves and poblano strips to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped, about 4 to 5 pulses.
Add the fresh cilantro, fish sauce, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lime juice to the food processor. Pulse until the relish becomes a chunky puree, about 3 to 4 more pulses.
Drizzle in the vegetable oil and pulse a few more times until the oil is fully incorporated into the relish. Taste the relish and add more lime juice if desired to brighten the flavors. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy.
Comments
Fish sauce is the sticking point: you'll need to find it at Harris Teeter, Kroger, or Walmart, as Food Lion and ALDI don't reliably stock it, meaning a deliberate stop if you're not already familiar with their international aisle. Poblano peppers are seasonal and variable in Charlotte—readily available in late summer and fall, scarcer in winter—so this shines most as a late-summer condiment when they're cheap and plentiful at farmers markets. The rest (garlic, cilantro, lime, sugar, oil) are standard weeknight staples everywhere, and at $4–6 total for two servings the relish is genuinely cheap. The 20-minute claim is honest for a no-cook or minimal-char preparation, and the dish keeps well refrigerated for 5 days, making it a smart Sunday prep that multiplies its value across weeknight taco nights or grilled chicken.
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