Quick Red Enchilada Sauce

Make a Great Enchilada Sauce in Minutes

An authentic red enchilada sauce made from dried chiles takes a long to make from scratch. So what do you do when you need better tasting sauce than what you get in a jar and you need it fast? You make a version that approximates a true enchilada sauce but will be ready in a quarter of the time. We’ll teach you how to make a quick tasty sauce that you can have ready in just minutes. You probably have all of the ingredients already. Let’s start cooking…

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 1lb Roma tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon Mexican chile powder (be sure there is no salt added to the powder.)
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt

In a very hot pan, char the tomatoes, onion and garlic. They should be well charred.

Once charred, add the vegetables to a blender and add just enough water to cover. No more. Add the oregano, cumin, and salt. Blend until very smooth.

Pour the salsa into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes until the salsa is cooked through and the flavors start to blend. It you prefer an extra smooth sauce, pour it through a strainer and press with the back of a spoon to release all of the flavor.

• Time required: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 portions
• Difficulty: easy
• Cost: inexpensive

You can double the batch and store the remaining enchilada sauce in the freezer for up to two months. The sauce tastes great on both chicken and cheese enchiladas.

We recommend that you try your hand at making an enchilada sauce from scratch the traditional way. If you have the time, it’s well worth the effort. Your family and friends will be impressed.