Red Chilli Sauce (Salsa de Chile Colorado)

Information

This is probably the most versatile version of the red chilli sauces and is made using Guajillo chillies. It also shows the important technique of toasting dried chillies on a griddle pan which develops the flavour. This sauce can be used to make red enchiladas, enchiladas rojas, with any preferred filling; with cooked pork to make carne con chile Colorado; and also with string beans or potatoes to make simple Lenten dishes.

Time

1 hour

Instructions

• Remove stems and seeds from Guajillo chillies while rinsing under cold running water. Place them on  griddle and toast over a medium-high heat (no more than 3 or 4 at a time if scaling this recipe up) just until the aroma is released, 30 - 60 seconds. Be careful not to burn them as they will make the sauce bitter
• Place the Guajillo chillies in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak until softened (about 20 minutes)
• While chillies soak place tomatoes in a pre-heated oven (200°C) for about 15-20 minutes. NB - Base the number of tomatoes you use on how spicy you want the sauce. Mild: use 3. Medium: use 1 or 2
• Drain chillies and discard the liquid
• Place Guajillo chillies, tomatoes, oregano, 1 garlic clove, and the stock in a blender and process to a smooth pureé. Add more stock if it is too thick for the blender. With the back of a wooden spoon, work the pureé through a sieve into a bowl, pushing and scraping to get as much of the sauce through as possible. You may want to pour in a little more liquid to help rinse the sauce through the sieve
• In a saucepan, heat lard or oil over medium-high heat until rippling
• Add remaining garlic clove and brown in the hot fat or oil, pressing down with the back of a cooking spoon to release the flavour. Then remove and discard
• Add flour to hot fat or oil and cook, stirring constantly, until golden. Make sure you mix it all together properly and avoid lumping.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the strained chilli puree to the pan a little at a time stirring carefully to avoid lumping. It will splatter as you pour it in - be careful. When you have added all of the chilli puree add sugar and cook over low heat, stirring often, until raw taste is gone and the flavour of chilli is mellowed, (about l0 minutes).
• Can be stored in a tightly sealed container in refrigerator (4-5C) for up to a week.
• Yield: about 350 - 400 ml

Courtesy of: Zarela Martinez. This recipe comes from her popular Mexican cookery book Food from my Heart. Other titles by Zarela include Food and Life of Oaxaca and Zarela's Veracruz. To read more about Zarela please see her profile on our friends page.