Photo: Salsa Roja Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
- 1 dried Anaheim chile, stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried chipotle chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 cup hot water
- 8 plum tomatoes, quartered
- 1 medium Spanish onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs cilantro
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 lime, juiced
Directions
Tear all the chiles into large pieces and toast them in a large dry skillet over medium heat until they change color a bit, about 2 minutes. Add the spices and continue to toast for 2 to 3 minutes until everything is fragrant. Remove from heat and carefully add about 1 cup of hot water to just cover the chiles. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Preheat the broiler. Put the quartered tomatoes, sliced onion, and whole garlic cloves onto a roasting tray, spreading out evenly. Drizzle with plenty of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cilantro sprigs. Broil until everything is nicely charred, about 10 minutes (you want lots of deep rich color so don't be afraid if some of the edges get pretty black).
Add the chile mixture to a blender and puree. Remove the tomato/onion mixture from the roasting pan and carefully add it to the blender, (it will be hot). Blend until smooth (you may need to work in 2 batches). Once everything is pureed, pour the mixture back into the pot over low heat adding a little water if the salsa is too thick. Stir in the sugar and lime juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a large serving bowl and serve.
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By Wadester
Seabrook, TX
on May 14, 2013
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Good recipe, but salsa does not need fat added to it. Leave out the olive oil; just spray the oven pan with non-stick olive-oil based spray. Then you have an award-winning salsa recipe, without all the fat.
By egapylime
Illinois
on April 09, 2013
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I am a huge fan of Qdoba's Salsa Roja and wanted to try to duplicate it. I would say this is VERY close. I accidentally put a little too much sugar in (it overpoured but it was fabulous. I agree it needs more Cilantro, and I did add some. All in all it was fabulous!
By AvonBarksdale
Indiana
on November 17, 2011
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Good, but in my opinion would be better with some tomatillos in addition to the tomatoes for some tartness, way more cilantro, and no cumin. By the way, I've never seen or heard of dried Anaheims being called Anaheims. They're usually called California or chile Colorado. New Mexico (which is where the Anaheim came from is either the same cultivar or very, very similar. When buying dried chiles they'll probably be labeled by one of those names and not Anaheim, since Anaheim typically only refers to the fresh green one. They may also be called chile seco del norte (dried chile from the north. Guajillo is a good substitution if you want more heat. Also, if you can't find the tan chipotles, you can use moritas, which is a type of chipotle made from a smaller, darker variety of jalapeño. This is the kind typically used in the cans of chipotle in adobo.
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