A few months back I bought two bags of pecan smoked New Mexican dried chiles. They made my entire pantry smell of their smoky flavor. I was so excited to use them that I wanted to make sure I did something really neat with them. Nothing seemed to rise to the top of my list and they ended up sitting in my pantry for a lot longer than I wanted them to! I was testing some recipes for my upcoming meal planning service and ended up making some really rockin’ red chile sauce for enchiladas.
But this red chile sauce is more than just an enchilada sauce – it adds layers of flavors to soups (I will be sharing a delicious chicken tortilla soup soon to use it in!) and goes especially well on top of fried eggs.
Mexican Red-Chile Sauce
Dried chiles should be soft and pliable. Discard any discolored or brittle chiles. Makes about 1 ½ pints.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 13 New Mexico chiles (about 1 ounce or 30 grams) (where to buy)
- 3 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
- 1 tomato
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 cup beef or chicken broth
- Salt, to taste
- 1/2 tsp raw honey
Directions
Rinse chiles under running water. Using scissors, cut across the stem end and down one side. Open chiles and flatten, discarding any loose seeds or veins.
Melt 2 tbsp. ghee in a small, heavy skillet over low heat. Briefly roast the chiles, one or two at a time until fragrant, about 15 seconds, turning once. If necessary, add more ghee to pan. Remove the chiles to a blender.
In the same pan, roast the tomato, turning occasionally, until skin is charred and tomato is fragrant. Remove tomato to blender. Add garlic and one cup water to blender and blend at medium speed until chiles are a smooth paste, about two minutes.
Pour the paste through a sieve set over a medium saucepan to remove skin and seeds. Pour one cup of beef or chicken stock into the sieve and, using a spoon, press the paste against the sieve to force more of the chile paste through.
Add remaining one tbsp. ghee to saucepan, and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Use immediately, or store in covered glass jars.
Will keep, refrigerated, for one week.
