Red Tomatillo Sauce
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
8 tomatillos, husked and washed
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 habanero chile, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. New Mexican chiles, ground fine
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Preheat an oven to 375F. Place the tomatillos in a small roasting pan, toss with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast the tomatillos until they are soft, about 20-25 minutes. Heat the remaining olive oil in a medium sauce pan and add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and habanero and cook for 1 minute more. Add the 3 Tbsp. of finely ground New Mexican chile and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatillos, stir, and cook for another 10 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor, add the vinegar, honey and cilantro, and process until almost smooth. Season it with salt and pepper.
This sauce is tangy and spicy, and is great on chicken, fish or pork.