Cascabel and Grapefruit Sauce
These chiles will add a deep, nutty flavor to dishes and are great to use in salsas and sauces. It is a medium-hot chile that is good in soups, stews, sauces and sausage.
Ingredients:
24 dried cascabel chiles
3 cups water
6 cloves garlic
4 cups fresh grapefruit juice
1 cup fresh orange juice
3 tsp. Jamaican allspice
1 tsp. salt
Instructions:
Remove the stems and seeds from the cascabel chiles, then using a comal or black iron skillet, or in an oven at 250F, dry roast the chiles for 3-4 minutes. Shake them once or twice, and do not allow them to blacken.
Add the chiles to the water in a covered pan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes to rehydrate, them allow them to cool.
Taste the chile water, and if it is not bitter, add about 1/2 cup, along with the chiles to a blender (use plain water if bitter) and puree together with the garlic, then strain.
Add the fruit juices, allspice and salt and mix together.
This sauce will keep refrigerated and covered for a week or so. It is excellent with chicken, pork and seafood dishes.