Dried Chile Salsa Roja

Tags

chile salsas, chiles de Arbol, Dried chile salsa, easy salsa roja, guajillo chiles, New Mexico dried chiles

I just wrote a food cover for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on cooking with dried chiles, and wanted to share this recipe for one of my favorite dried chile salsas made by my friend, Deya. It’s authentic to the state of Sonora, Mexico, where it’s made fresh daily before dinner. But it can be found throughout much of the country. It’s so easy to make, and you can play around with the ingredients to suit your taste. For me, the slightly floral and bitter flavors from the dried chiles are a big plus. But you can throw in extra tomatoes if you prefer a little less drama in your salsa.

Either way, you can’t go wrong. This is the ideal salsa to go with chips and margaritas, but it’s equally good spooned over eggs and fried potatoes. In fact, I like to poach my eggs in a skillet with the bottom covered with a layer of hot salsa roja. Try some on grilled steak, you won’t regret it. This is a well-blended salsa, not chunky. But it does retain some texture, and you’ll get a blast from the caramelized garlic that just adds to the bold flavors from the chiles.

You can find the dried chiles in clear bags in the international section of just about any supermarket today.

Dried Chile Salsa Roja

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 guajillo chilies, stems snipped

6 chilies de arbol (if you want a mild salsa, you can use 2 dried California or New Mexico chilies, instead.)

5 garlic cloves, cut in half

3 whole fresh Roma tomatoes

1 15-ounce can fire roasted whole or diced tomatoes (Plain works, too.)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 of a white onion

1 teaspoon salt

Add oil to a medium saucepan or skillet, turn heat to medium.

When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic to the pan and toss them around for about 10 minutes until the garlic is a pale golden color and the chilies darken slightly. Take care not to burn the garlic or chilies.

Remove and place in blender.

Place the Roma tomatoes in the pan and add a bit more oil if you need to, and shake the tomatoes over medium heat until some of the skin turns dark and starts to blister. It should just take a couple of minutes.

Cut the stem end off of the tomatoes, quarter them and place them in the blender with the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until smooth.

Makes about two cups of salsa in just a few minutes. You’ll never have to buy salsa from a store again.

Do you have a favorite salsa recipe you’d like to share? I’d love to know about it.

Dried Chile Salsa Roja Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 guajillo chilies, stems snipped

6 chilies de arbol (if you want a mild salsa, you can use 2 dried California or New Mexico chilies, instead.)

5 garlic cloves, cut in half

3 whole fresh Roma tomatoes

1 15-ounce can fire roasted whole or diced tomatoes (Plain works, too.)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 of a white onion

1 teaspoon salt

Add oil to a medium saucepan or skillet, turn heat to medium.

When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic to the pan and toss them around for about 10 minutes until the garlic is a pale golden color and the chilies darken slightly. Take care not to burn the garlic or chilies.

Remove and place in blender.

Place the Roma tomatoes in the pan and add a bit more oil if you need to, and shake the tomatoes over medium heat until some of the skin turns dark and starts to blister. It should just take a couple of minutes.

Cut the stem end off of the tomatoes, quarter them and place them in the blender with the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until smooth.

Makes about two cups of salsa.