Chile de Arbol Salsa

I was so excited to find this chile de arbol salsa recipe on MJ’s Kitchen because I’ve had an opened bag of arbol chiles sitting in my cupboard for a while now and I really need to use them up. I loved that the recipe has you cook the chiles along with some garlic cloves and coriander seed in some oil for about 10 minutes, which really brought out a ton of flavor in all of them. The leftover oil is fantastic to use in any Mexican food recipes as well as sauteing veggies, etc. We all thought the salsa was delicious–a little bit sweet and tangy as well as very spicy and it paired nicely with the chicken tacos I served it with. I’ll be making this chile de arbol salsa again SOON!

How to Make Chile de Arbol Salsa

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the dried chile pods, whole garlic cloves, and coriander seeds and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Pour the oil through a strainer into a jar; set aside.

Place the chile pods, garlic cloves, and coriander seeds in a blender along with 1 teaspoon of the reserved oil and 1/4 cup of drained fire-roasted tomatoes. Blend until smooth paste forms then pour the paste into a small container.

For medium heat salsa add 2 tablespoons of paste back to the blender. For a hot salsa add 3 tablespoons of paste. For very hot salsa add all of the paste back to the blender. Side Note: Seal the container and store any leftover paste in the refrigerator until you want to make more salsa. 

Add 1 teaspoon of the reserved oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Side Note: Store remaining oil in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. Use for sauteing meats, veggies, eggs, and all Mexican food.

Add the remaining drained fire-roasted tomatoes to the paste in the blender along with the vinegar. Pulse a few times until you have the consistency you like in salsa. Taste then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Add the chopped cilantro then mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the salsa in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve at room temperature with your favorite tortilla chips and Mexican food. Enjoy!

Chile de Arbol Salsa

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Refrigerator for 1-2 hours to allow flavors to mingle: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Course: Appetizer, Appies & Snacks

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 1 cup

Author: Adapted by Pam / Original by MJ's Kitchen

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 8 dried arbol chile pods, stems removed
• 2 large whole garlic cloves
• ¼ tsp coriander seeds
• 1 (14 oz can) fire-roasted tomatoes, juices drained
• ½ medium yellow onions, diced
• 1 ½ tsp vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the dried chile pods, whole garlic cloves, and coriander seeds and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
• Pour the oil through a strainer into a jar; set aside.
• Place the chile pods, garlic cloves, and coriander seeds in a blender along with 1 teaspoon of the reserved oil and 1/4 cup of drained fire-roasted tomatoes. Blend until smooth paste forms then pour the paste into a small container. 
• For medium heat salsa add 2 tablespoons of paste back to the blender. For a hot salsa add 3 tablespoons of paste. For very hot salsa add all of the paste back to the blender.

  Side Note: Seal the container and store any leftover paste in the refrigerator until you want to make more salsa. 
• Add 1 teaspoon of the reserved oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

  Side Note: Store remaining oil in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. Use for sauteing meats, veggies, eggs, and all Mexican food.
• Add the remaining drained fire-roasted tomatoes to the paste in the blender along with the vinegar. Pulse a few times until you have the consistency you like in salsa.
• Taste then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
• Add the chopped cilantro then mix until thoroughly combined.
• Pour the salsa into an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours to allow the flavors to mingle.
• Serve at room temperature with your favorite tortilla chips and Mexican food. Enjoy!

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