Dave’s Fresh Red Chile Sauce

This method of making chile sauce differs from others using fresh New Mexican chiles because these chiles aren’t roasted and peeled first. Due to the high sugar content of fresh red chiles, this sauce is sweeter than most. I harvested some fresh red chiles from my garden one late summer day, made a batch of this sauce, and ate every drop as a soup! It makes a tasty enchilada sauce, too.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 fresh red New Mexican chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped (or
more, to taste)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano leaves
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the chiles, onion, and garlic
until the onion is soft, about 7 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and
simmer for 1 hour, uncovered.
In a blender, puree the sauce in batches and return it to the saucepan.
Cook until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

Yield: About 2 cups
Heat Scale: Medium