Backstory
I’d found this wonderful creamy sauce in Austin’s TacoDeli, at the East end of Barton Skyway. Very powerful day one, it ages quickly and takes on brain-melting properties after just a few days. Yummmm… They (obviously) wouldn’t give out the recipe, but I serendipitously found it when visiting friends in El Paso who had a live-in cook. The recipe that follows is hers, with comments in brackets “[]” on my part.
In the name of full disclosure, I need to say I haven’t taken my batch down to the good folks out there: they might not let me leave without telling them how I cracked their code!
1/2/10 update: Modified recipe to address comments using a bold font. There are no additional ingredients, needed to make it, however the optional avocado would make for a creamy, instead of liquid, sauce.
Ingredients
- 10 Serrano peppers [Try 7 Serrano and 6 Jalapeno]
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced [2 bulbs instead, and crush the garlic to release more flavor (can you see where sweating might come in???)]
- 1T oil (canola works, but I’d use olive oil — watch the temperature so it doesn’t get past the smoke point!)
- 1/2C water
- Optional: 1/4 Ettinger or 1/2 Haas or Fuerte avocado [This provides creaminess. Other commenters have suggested using sour cream.]
- 1t salt [You might want to add more later]
Preparation
- Remove the stems from the chilis and perforate them all over with the tip of a knife
- Place chilis and garlic in a sauce pan with the oil
- Saute over a low flame (remember: olive oil has a low smoke point!) until the Serrano skins begin to peel off the chilis (about 6 minutes)
- Put the chilis (with their skins) and the garlic (and the optional avocado) in a blender with water and salt and blend thoroughly.
- Pour salsa back into the sauce pan with the oil and cook for 3 minutes or so, to blend the flavors
Yield:
About 3/4C sauce. Remember, the older the sauce, the more you sweat!