Recipe - Salsa Rojo (Red Salsa)

3 Dried New Mexico chiles *
3 Dried serrano chiles **
3 Cloves garlic, separated &
skins le
Boiling water
Salt to taste

* pasilla, guajillo, or ancho chiles ** or chile arbol, or Thai bird chiles

Heat a large flat griddle or skillet over high heat. Place the chiles on
the dry skillet, along with the garlic. Check them every few minutes,
looking for brown spots as they toast on the dry griddle; turn both the
chiles and the garlic cloves, keeping an eye on the color and more
importantly on the aroma. When the scent changes and takes on a toasty,
rich character, they're done. Remove them from heat and let them cool for a
few seconds. When cool enough to handle (the peppers cool more quickly than
the garlic, which in turn takes longer to cook), pull out the stems, veins,
seeds and placentas from the chiles. Tear the skins into mediumsized
chunks and place them in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over them just to
cover, then place a smaller bowl or saucer over the peppers to keep them
immersed in the water. Set your timer for at least 30 minutes before
continuing. After the peppers have had time to soak well, pour the peppers
and water into a blender. Peel the skins off the garlic cloves (which
should smell sweet, smoky and wonderful in their own right) and drop them
into the blender as well. Puree thoroughly. The sauce will be chunky; if
appearance is important, you can strain it through a wire strainer to get
the larger pieces of the skin out of the mixture. (I begrudge the amount
of sauce that clings to the mesh myself...) Taste it; add salt and serve
immediately.

Recipe by: =20 Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #567 by Gerald Edgerton
jerrye@wizard.com on Apr 14, 1997