Chile Morita Salsa

Introduction

A family friend introduced us to chile morita. It is a chipotle pepper (red jalapeño) that has been smoked/dried. Locally we can get them from Food City but I am sure they are available online. Like any dried chile you want to make sure they are not too brittle. Their texture should be close to a raisin. This salsa is great for chips and salsa as well as on top of shredded meat tacos, burritos or tostadas due to its slightly smoky flavor.

At some point when red jalapeños are on sale, I want to try smoking/drying them myself.

Ingredients

• 2 chile morita
• 2 fifteen ounce cans of diced tomatoes
• 3 to 4 fresh serrano chiles
• 1/2 large sweet yellow onion
• 2 to 4 cloves of unpeeled garlic
• 1 bunch of washed cilantro with large stems removed
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• Canola oil spray

Equipment

• Sauce pan
• Baking sheet
• Tin foil
• Vitamix/Blender
• Storage container or serving bowl

Instructions

• Add 2 cups of water and the chile morita to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil
• Boil for 5 to 8 minutes and then cut flame and let peppers cool in the water
• While water is coming to a boil, line a backing sheet with tin foil and start either your gas grill or broiler on high
• Slice the onion into 1/2” rings and wash the serrano chiles
• Add the onion, serrano chiles and garlic to the tin foil lined backing sheet and spray with canola oil spray.
• Roast the serranos, onions and garlic until well blackened
• You will need to turn them occasionally and may want to remove the garlic before the chiles and onion
• Allow the peppers and onions to cool. Remove any stems if you haven’t done so already.
• Add the tomatoes, cilantro, onion, all chiles and the salt and blend to your desired consistency

Hints

• You can swap jalapeños for the serranos for a little spicier salsa