Mexican Red Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Coat the bottom of a heavy saucepan with oil; add chile pods. Toast over medium heat until aromatic, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in onion and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add enough chicken stock to allow pods to float; simmer until they develop the texture of wet leather, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Fill blender halfway with chile-stock mixture. Cover and hold lid down with a potholder; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Pour into a bowl; repeat with remaining mixture. Strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan over medium heat. Discard solids.
• Stir cumin, coriander, and oregano into the saucepan; add honey. Cook until sauce is thick and evenly coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the onion, oregano, chili powder, basil, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, parsley, salsa and tomato sauce.
• Mix together and then stir in the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Working on one chile at a time, use a kitchen shears to cut a slit all the way down one side of a chile. Open up the chile and remove the stem and seeds. Remove as much of the veins as you can. Reserve a few of the seeds or veins for adding later if you want added heat.
• Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Flatten out the dried chilies as well as you can and place on the skillet to heat. Press down on the opened chilies with a metal spatula for a few seconds. You may hear some sizzle or popping. You do not want to toast or burn the chilies, just heat them enough to draw out more of the flavor.
• Add the chilies to a small saucepan and add enough water so that they are just covered. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, until the chilies have softened and plumped up. (OR pour place the chilies in a small saucepan and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let sit for 15 minutes, until softened.).
• Reserving the soaking water, remove the chilies from the pan and place in a blender. Add the garlic, salt, ground pepper, ground cloves, and 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid (taste the soaking water first, if it seems bitter, use water or even broth instead). Purée for 2 minutes, until the sauce is completely smooth. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. If you want more heat, add in a few of the seeds or veins and purée some more. Add more salt if needed.
• Pour the sauce through a sieve into a skillet. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the sauce. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain the simmer, cook for 10 minutes. Skim off the foam. Remove from heat. Use immediately or pour into a glass jar (plastic will get stained) and refrigerate.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place chiles on a baking sheet. Toast lightly in oven, 3 or 4 minutes, until they give off a mild aroma. Do not burn, otherwise, chiles will be very bitter.
• Remove chiles from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Remove and discard stems, seeds, and any pink pithy materials.
• Rinse chiles in cool water, drain briefly, then cover with hot water and soak for an hour.
• Process chiles in blender with enough of the soaking water to obtain a nice, blended consistency.
• Add remaining water, tomato sauce, garlic, oil, salt, oregano, and cumin. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for later use.