Scale
Ingredients
- 3 cups of chile de arbol
- 4 roasted Hatch green chiles
- 1 head of roasted garlic
- 2 teaspoons smoked Maldon salt
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (I use mesquite)
- olive oil
Instructions
- Take the head of garlic and cut in half along the equator of the bulb. Place them in a oven-proof baking dish that has a lid. Please the cut garlic head into the baking dish and drizzle a little olive oil over the cut parts. Place a lid, or foil over the baking dish to cover. Roast the garlic (covered) at 350 degrees for 2 hours.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place 3 cup of dried chile de arbols on a clean, half-sheet pan, place in pre-heated oven in a middle-high rack position. Roast for 4-5 minutes. Peek earlier as some very dried chiles will cook quicker. Most of the brick red chiles should now be dark brown. Take out of the oven, and “scoop and flip” the chiles exposing the bright red brick colored chiles bottom sides that didn’t get any color, now these are mostly exposed and the darker parts of the chiles are mostly facing down. Place the sheet pan back in the oven for another 4-5 minutes. We are looking for a mostly dark brown chiles surface and not too many black ones. That is why it is important to peek at 3 minutes if you smell a strong aroma. Once the batch is mostly brown, pull out of the oven and let cool. You can hold the chiles for a few days at room temperature. I don’t place them in plastic, I use a paper bag to let them breathe.
- Gather all the ingredients. Place the chiles in a small pan with a lid. Place your hand on the chiles just soft enough to keep them from floating while you add water to the pan. Keep holding the chiles down and add enough water to barely cover the chiles. Place on a medium-high burner and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, and to a high-speed blender or a food processor, all the other ingredients. Then, pour the contents of the pan, water and chiles into the blender or food processor. Blend/process at the highest speed until almost smooth. A little texture is nice. If you prefer, you can process until smooth.
- Pour out into a bowl and enjoy!
Notes
I use a teaspoon or 2 on each taco, directly on the meat, or fish. I use 2 tablespoons in a bowl of chicken soup. If you are bold enough, you can dip tortilla chips directly in and eat. Best to start with a little ata a time.