Sauce: Salsa Roja

If you were to search online for a salsa roja recipe, you'd come across hundreds of results. Similar to most sauce recipes you can add, substitute, or even eliminate ingredients to your liking. There just isn't one perfect recipe because (honestly) they all are! Here is my take on a milder  and sweeter sauce that is great for making chile rellenos, huevos ahogados, enchiladas, chilaquiles, or any recipe that asks for salsa roja! I hope you give this recipe a try!

I guess I should have garnished it a little before taking a picture...

makes 2 batches

Ingredients:

• 2 chipotle chiles (canned)
• 2 ancho chiles (dried)
• 2 guajillo chiles (dried)
• 4 chiles de arbol
• 1/2 medium onion (sliced)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 3 ripe roma tomatoes
• 1 can tomato puree (7+ ounce)
• 2 sprigs cilantro 
• 1/2-1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon chicken powder
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• Salt, black pepper, and sugar to taste

Directions:

• Soak all dried chiles in a bowl of water until tender (around  20 minutes)
• In the meantime bring water to a boil.
• Quarter the tomatoes and slice the onions
• Add in sliced onions, chipotle chile, quartered tomatoes, garlic cloves, and ~7 ounces of tomato puree in boiling water. Simmer in low flame.
• Pull off the stems from the soaked chiles and cook them together with the other ingredients.
• In about 20 minutes turn off the flame and pour all content in a heat safe blender (or let cool for 30 minutes)and add in the sprigs of cilantro.
• Blend all content until smooth.
• Pour mixture in a bowl and stir in lemon juice and season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. 

I made huevos ahogados by poaching the eggs in the salsa roja and served it with tostadas (crispy corn tortilla)