Easy Red Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
4 ounces dried New Mexico Ancho, Guajillo, and/or Pasilla Chiles (12 to 15 chiles), stemmed and with the seeds removed
3/4 cup raisins
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons crumbled dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Directions
Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle.
Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add the chiles and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, just until the chiles become aromatic. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the boiling water over the chiles. Stir in the raisins. Let the chiles and raisins rehydrate in the water for about 30 minutes.
Remove the chiles and raisins (all the solids) from the pot using tongs or a slotted spoon and put them in a large bowl. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-meshed sieve and toss any seeds that the sieve catches.
To the bowl of rehydrated chiles and raisins, add about 2 cups of the soaking liquid (or a mixture of soaking liquid and water) along with the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and salt.
Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture (alternatively, you can transfer the solids and about 2 cups of the soaking water to a countertop blender and puree, then return the pureed mixture to the bowl.) Add additional water or soaking liquid as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
Use immediately or let cool and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week or in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
