Salsa Time! Bring the Chips (Part 1)
Salsa Roja (Red Salsa)
November 14, 2021.
When it comes to recipe posts I am tired of having to read the entire history before getting to the actual recipe. So I will try to improve on that. Before I start I would like to state that this recipe makes a lot, so I can it. Also this is the base for my Red Enchiladas Sauce. A couple times a year I do a day of salsas, invite family over, and we divvy up the jars. I make several varieties in a single day. Today, I am making 2 heat levels of Salsa Roja. The final seasoning is always to taste, so I my batches vary. My base recipe for this salsa came from Tyler Florence’s Salsa Roja found on Foodnetwork.com. I have been modifying to suit my personal taste.
Ingredients
- 8-12 dried chilis, stemmed and seeded. Use a variety. See below for selection description.
- 2 TBSP dried Mexican oregano
- 2 TBSP cumin seeds
- 2 TBSP coriander seeds
- 1-2 cups hot water
- 16 plum (roma) tomatoes (approximately 4 lbs ) quartered. You can use regular tomatoes, but the plum tomatoes have a lower liquid level in them.
- 2 med Spanish (yellow) onions, quartered. If you have white or red onions use those. Experiment.
- 6+ garlic cloves. I like a lot of garlic, so I use recipe amounts as a starting point. All depends on personal preference.
- 6 TBSP olive oil (I usually use avocado oil, but no need to go and buy it just for this)
- salt and pepper
- cilantro (1 bunch, stems and all) Added to taste.
- 1 TBSP sugar, only added to taste if needed. Can use honey if you do not want processed sugar.
- 2-3 limes (maybe more, depends on how much juice you will get from each lime)
- 2-3 fresh jalapeños (seeded and de-ribbed) optional
- Tomato Paste; Used on SPICY version to counteract a grassy taste. Used about t TBSP.
- Honey; Used on SPICY version to counteract a bitter flavor. Used about 1 TBSP.
Experiments: For today, I am experimenting with mexican chocolate. And before you freak out about what this crazy chick is thinking…
- Chocolate has been being paired with chilis for centuries. Before the Europeans even knew chocolate existed, it was used in savory applications and paired the chilis and spice. Today, Mexican chocolate is low sugar with cinnamon and cayenne.
- I am not looking to add so much chocolate that you would taste the salsa and say, hmmm chocolate. I want just enough to add a rich, dark depth of flavor.
- I also use chocolate in chili, try it some time.
Chili Selection
The chilis that I have access to the most regularly are anaheims , anchos, arbols, chipotles, guajillos, moritas, and pasilla. Capsaicin (where the heat is) in chilis and peppers is found throughout the chili. However it is most concentrated in the ribs and seeds. So, if you like it spicy, leave the seeds in. For more information on Chilis you can go to https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/ or https://www.thespruceeats.com/types-of-red-chiles-2342639. Dried chilis last a long time and are fairly inexpensive. I store mine is resealable bags in an air tight container. I use the chilis in Salsa, Chili, and Mole most commonly, but they can be used in many applications.
- Anaheims are mild in flavor for a chili, but can have a wide range on spice. Made from dried/smoked anaheim peppers. 500 to 2,500 Scoville Heat Units (SHU).
- Anchos are mild, sweet, smoky, back end heat. Made from dried/smoked poblano peppers. 1,000 to 2,000 SHU.
- Arbols are spicy, lingering delayed heat. Made using the Chile de arbol. 30,000 to 50,000 SHU.
- I made the mistake of adding like 8 of them to a large batch of chili and it made it too spicy to eat. Even with the seeds removed. Use with caution.
- Chipotles are smoky front end heat, made from the smoked green jalapeño. 1,000 to 10,000 SHU.
- Guajillos complex smoky heat. Made using mirasol pepper. 2,500 to 5,000 SHU.
- Moritas are similar to the chipotle, fruitier, less smoky. They are made from the riper red jalapeño. 2,500 to 10,000 SHU.
- New Mexico Chilis are mild in heat and rich in flavor. 800 to 1000 SHU. The most famous of New Mexico chilis is the Hatch Chili Pepper.
- Pasilla has a fruity flavor. Made using the chiaca pepper. 1,000 to 2,000 SHU.
Since my MIL requested a MILD version and a SPICY version for a family event, I will be using anchos, New Mexico, and pasillas for the mild; and adding arbols and chipotles for the spicy. Remember, in the following recipe it is easier and faster to add spice/heat than to take it away.
Directions
Gather all your ingredients. Make sure you have everything.
- I did that and realized I was out of guajillo peppers, so I went out to pick them up. I was unable to find them, but I did find the New Mexico Chilis to use instead. Score. I hadn’t bought any of those before.
Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Put the quartered tomatoes, onions, garlic, garlic, TBSN of salt, and drizzle with the oil on a sheet pan. Skirt the juice from 3 limes over and set them on top.
If you are concerned about the limes or the salt, use less at this stage. You will be able to add it in later. What I said about spice above applies here too.
Roast for 30-40 minutes (until the onions start to blacken).
While the veggies are roasting, tear all the chilis into a sauce pan and toast, dry over medium heat until they start to change color (about 2 minutes). If you are sensitive to the capsaicin (like me) you may start to feel it in the back of your throat if you are standing over the pan.
- Add the coriander and cumin seeds to the chilis. Roast for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Remove chilis from heat and add water until it just covers the chili.
- Return to heat and boil for 15 minutes.
Dry Roast Add Spices Boiling
Combine roasted veggies and chilis (with water) into a stock pot with cilantro. I squeezed out the limes and discarded the shells. Puree with a hand blender (boat motor). Taste. Add lime, salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste. If it is too spicy add some sugar or lime juice (acid) to help with the heat. If it is still to spicy, you may end up having to dilute it with some additional roasted tomatoes and onions. This is where I am added the chocolate. I ended up adding 3/8 of a disc. As you can see below, it darkened during this process.
Before Reduction After Reduction and Chocolate
Remember that you will most likely be serving with salted tortilla chips, so keep that in mind with regards to the salt level. I dip the chips in to taste. Doesn’t get a spoon dirty that way.
Be careful tasting directly from the pot. Last time I burned my bottom lip badly.
Simmer until desired thickness. Keep tasting.
Fun story, the first time we used this method for salsa, was because we couldn’t get our blender to work. We accidently left it on the stove at low heat and forgot it. When we came back we discovered we liked the thicker texture. Remember that accidents can happen and they may be happy accidents or learning experiences. But either way have fun with it.
If you are going to be canning the salsa. I recommend that you start warming up the canning pot and water at this point, so you are not waiting on it later.
Once the desired thickness is reached, I start canning the salsa. Due to the acid level of salsa, I use water bath canning. Normally, I fill quart jars for my enchiladas sauce base, pint jars for household use, and I fill cup jars for my MIL (as requested) and to give way.
Taste: It starts out fresh, tomato with the lime, then it is almost sweet, but darker. At the end, there is a small amount of heat, that does not grow.
Since, I tried splitting the salsa, I canned 1 quart and 2 cups (I still have 1 quart from a previous canning day to take). For sterilization instructions, visit https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_01/sterile_jars.html. I wash my jars and lids, dry them, and put them in the oven for 20 minutes at 200° F. I water bath can the salsa for 15 minutes. Check to make sure that you can cover the jars with at least an inch of water in the pot you are using for the water bath before you start. I do enough canning that I bought a 22 quart stock pot for canning.
This was the first time I have attempted this split spice level single batch process. After canning the mild, I did not have the volume remaining that I wanted, I roasted 5 more tomatoes, 1/2 an onion, 1 jalapeño (with seeds), 1/2 a lime, and 4 more cloves of garlic. I also began the dry roasting of additional chilis using 1 New Mexico, 7 chipotle, 6 arbols, 1 TBSP of oregano, 1 TBSP of cumin seeds, and 1 TBSN of coriander seeds. My oldest boy T and my Husband are the tasters since they handle spicy better than me. I added a small bunch of cilantro and 3 segments of chocolate again.
For taste my Husband felt that it was too grassy and bitter. To counter act that I added 2 TBSP of tomato paste and 1 TBSP of honey. The heat was all in the back, at the end of the bite. I could only take 1 or 2 bites before it the heat was too much and had to wait for my mouth to recover and did not get any grassy or bitter notes that my Husband talked about, but that was probably due to the heat. My oldest son T, who likes heat, liked the final product. This is for the pepper heads at a family event , so will get additional feed back about the flavor.
Followed my canning process.