Salsa Roja
 

Salsa Roja

1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 - dried ancho chiles
3 - dried New Mexico chiles
1 - dried chipotle chile
1/2 - onion, chopped
2 - cloves garlic
1 tablespoon - coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon - ground cumin
1 teaspoon - crushed Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon - peanut oil

On a hot comal, lightly toast the chiles until slightly softened,
don't toast until crisp. Tear the ancho and New Mexico chiles into
large pieces, shaking out and discarding the seeds. Place ALL of
the chiles in a container, cover with water, and soak for about
30 minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid. Dice
the garlic cloves, sprinkle with the coarse salt, and crush with
the tines of a dinner fork until well mashed. Sauté the garlic and
onions in peanut oil. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the chile-soaking
water and then pour into a blender. Add the chiles to the blender,
thoroughly puree, adding a bit more of the soaking water if necessary.
Pour into a sauce pan. Add tomato paste, spices, and rest of the
soaking water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the
sauce is thickened as desired.

Salsa Roja
 

"Rich McCormack" > wrote in message
...
>
> Salsa Roja
>
> 1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste
> 2 - dried ancho chiles
> 3 - dried New Mexico chiles
> 1 - dried chipotle chile
> 1/2 - onion, chopped
> 2 - cloves garlic
> 1 tablespoon - coarse salt
> 1/2 teaspoon - ground cumin
> 1 teaspoon - crushed Mexican oregano
> 1 tablespoon - peanut oil
>
> On a hot comal, lightly toast the chiles until slightly softened,
> don't toast until crisp. Tear the ancho and New Mexico chiles into
> large pieces, shaking out and discarding the seeds. Place ALL of
> the chiles in a container, cover with water, and soak for about
> 30 minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid. Dice
> the garlic cloves, sprinkle with the coarse salt, and crush with
> the tines of a dinner fork until well mashed. Sauté the garlic and
> onions in peanut oil. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the chile-soaking
> water and then pour into a blender. Add the chiles to the blender,
> thoroughly puree, adding a bit more of the soaking water if necessary.
> Pour into a sauce pan. Add tomato paste, spices, and rest of the
> soaking water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the
> sauce is thickened as desired.

"Dried ancho" and "dried chipotle" are redundant. Anchos are dried poblanos
and chipotles are dried (and smoked) jalapenos. Don't confuse those who are
learning about Mexican cooking!

Salsa Roja
 

"James A. Finley" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Rich McCormack" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Salsa Roja
> >
> > 1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste
> > 2 - dried ancho chiles
> > 3 - dried New Mexico chiles
> > 1 - dried chipotle chile
> > 1/2 - onion, chopped
> > 2 - cloves garlic
> > 1 tablespoon - coarse salt
> > 1/2 teaspoon - ground cumin
> > 1 teaspoon - crushed Mexican oregano
> > 1 tablespoon - peanut oil
> >
> > On a hot comal, lightly toast the chiles until slightly softened,
> > don't toast until crisp. Tear the ancho and New Mexico chiles into
> > large pieces, shaking out and discarding the seeds. Place ALL of
> > the chiles in a container, cover with water, and soak for about
> > 30 minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid. Dice
> > the garlic cloves, sprinkle with the coarse salt, and crush with
> > the tines of a dinner fork until well mashed. Sauté the garlic and
> > onions in peanut oil. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the chile-soaking
> > water and then pour into a blender. Add the chiles to the blender,
> > thoroughly puree, adding a bit more of the soaking water if necessary.
> > Pour into a sauce pan. Add tomato paste, spices, and rest of the
> > soaking water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the
> > sauce is thickened as desired.
>
> "Dried ancho" and "dried chipotle" are redundant. Anchos are dried
poblanos
> and chipotles are dried (and smoked) jalapenos. Don't confuse those who
are
> learning about Mexican cooking!
>
>

I daresay no one was confused.

Jack

Salsa Roja
 

Dave wrote:

> On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 17:06:05 -0600, James A. Finley wrote:
>
>
>>"Dried ancho" and "dried chipotle" are redundant. Anchos are dried poblanos
>>and chipotles are dried (and smoked) jalapenos.
>
>
> Actually, I understood him perfectly: don't substitute a canned
> chipotle. They don't toast.
>
> Cheers!
> Dave

And they're no longer dry.


jim

Salsa Roja
 

"James A. Finley" wrote:
>
> "Rich McCormack" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Salsa Roja
> >
> > 1 - 6 ounce can tomato paste
> > 2 - dried ancho chiles
> > 3 - dried New Mexico chiles
> > 1 - dried chipotle chile

Rest of recipe snipped so as not to be redundant...

> "Dried ancho" and "dried chipotle" are redundant. Anchos are dried poblanos
> and chipotles are dried (and smoked) jalapenos. Don't confuse those who are
> learning about Mexican cooking!

I guess one could say the term "dried ancho" is redundant, but
it is a term commonly found in Mexican cookbooks. Rick Bayless,
generally considered an authority on Mexican cooking, uses the
term "dried ancho chile" in his books. I don't think there's
any confusion to be found there. The use of pasilla for poblano,
as sometimes found on supermarket produce labels...now that can
certainly be confusing.

As for "dried chipotle" being redundant...as already has been
mentioned, there is a distinct difference between dried chipotles
and canned chipotles en adobo.

This brings up an interesting question. How many other fresh
chiles are called something else when dried? The above mentioned
pasilla is a dried chilaca. I know there's more...

Rich