Salsa Roja

Ingredients

• 600 g tomatoes
• 4 pieces guajillo chillies, dried
• 3 pieces chiles de arbol, dried
• 0.5 pieces white onion
• 3 pieces garlic cloves
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt

Steps

1. 1
   Toast the dried chillies on a dry pan for 20-30 seconds a side, pressing them flat. Stop the moment they smell sweet — a second too long and the whole salsa turns bitter.
2. 2
   Soak the toasted chillies in hot water for 20 minutes, then stem and seed them.
3. 3
   Char the tomatoes, onion and unpeeled garlic on the same dry pan until blackened and soft.
4. 4
   Peel the garlic.
5. 5
   Blend the chillies with the charred vegetables, cumin and salt, adding a little of the chilli soaking water to loosen.
6. 6
   Fry the blended salsa in a spoon of hot oil for 5 minutes, stirring — this step deepens the colour and rounds off the raw edge.
7. 7
   Finish with lime juice and salt to taste. It keeps a week in the fridge.