DIY Árbol Chile and Roasted Tomato Salsa

October 12, 2011

Making your own salsa is easier then you think. This arbol chile and roasted tomato salsa only requires a few ingredients and made in a blender. The good news is that you don't need any specialty ingredients, you should be able to find everything at your local supermarket. The chile de arbol is a relatively spicy small Mexican pepper. They are a thin pepper about 2-3 inches long, prized for their bright red color. To cook with dried chiles, such as this one, toast them in a skillet and then add to your salsa. Depending on the preparation, you may want to soak the chile to reconstitute it. This salsa is perfect on tacos, in qusadillas, or plain with some really good tortilla chips.

Árbol Chile and Roasted Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

6 plum tomatoes, halved and roasted in the oven for 2 hours or more

1 onion coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic

6 árbol chiles, stemmed (remove the seeds for less heat)

1/4 cup corn or peanut oil

Kosher salt

Directions:

Heat the oil over medium-low heat and add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 15 to twenty minutes or until soft.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, add another tablespoon of oil to a skillet and gently toast the árbol chiles for about 15 seconds or until they are fragrant; remove and let cool.

Once everything is cool enough to touch, add them all to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth (they say until the consistency of heavy cream).

Bring back to the saucepan, bring it to medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring until the salsa emulsifies.

Season with salt to taste.

Let cool before serving it as a salsa de la mesa, or spoon directly over meat, poultry, or quesadillas.