The first snow on the last red chile
My one true goal for the the garden this year has been achieved; I grew everything needed for a batch of New Mexico red chile sauce. A favorite recipe for this NM staple comes not from the Red Chile Bible cookbook, but former Santa Fe chef Mark Miller and his Coyote Cafe cookbook (the current menu at the Coyote Cafe- different owner/chef now-, and the plethora of bad reviews on-line, give little justice to the seasonal and regional recipes in this great book).
Ready for roasting
You start by seeding the red chile pods and dry roasting them at 250 for a couple minutes. The pods are then simmered in water for 30 minutes. Roma tomatoes and garlic cloves are blacked over a gas flame, and an onion is sautéed in a little oil. The now softened chiles are pureed with the tomato, garlic, and onion. Oregano is always added, but I left out the cumin this time. Up to a cup of liquid is added to the puree-- chile water if it's not too bitter. Finally a ladle full of sauce at a time is pored into a sizzling hot cast-iron pan with beef tallow and stirred constantly for a minute or two. Using about half of my red chile harvest-mostly sandia and espanola varieties- I happily canned 4 pints of my from-the-ground-up red sauce. The charred tomato skins and garlic add a savory smokiness to this comfortable winter staple of NM.
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