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Add rajas poblanas and chile de arbol sauces.
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bmount committed Nov 4, 2013
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34 changes: 34 additions & 0 deletions base_layers/rajas_poblanas.md
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Taco de rajas poblanas
======================

* Bunch of poblano peppers
* Onion
* Tad of oil
* Mexican crema or sour cream
* *optionally*, fresh corn
* *optionally*, queso Oaxaca or panela or fresco

Start with 1 or more produce-section bags of Poblano peppers,
it's handy if the bags are not totally full for a subsequent step.

Place the Poblano peppers over an open flame, typically directly
over a natural gas burner on a stove. Their skin will bubble and blister,
rotate and rearrange them with tongs until the burns, bubbles, and
blisters are evenly distributed around the chiles and you feel a tingle
in your upper sinuses. Put the singed peppers back in the produce bags,
then close the bags tightly to 'sweat' the chiles inside.

While the chiles are sweating, sautee some onion slices in a pan.
Optionally, add some pre-cooked whole kernels of corn when the onion is
almost done.

Take the chiles out of the bag. Their skin will be wilted and will come off
in your fingers. Peel the outer layer of the chiles off and discard. Once
the outer skin is removed, de-vein the rest and remove the seeds. Then
cut the flesh into thinninsh strips.

Add the chile strips (the 'rajas') back into the pan with the onion. Get it
all hot and finish cooking any bits of chile that remain raw after the
skin removal process. When it looks close to done, lower the cooking heat
to a minimum and add the cream and cheese(s) and warm them for about 5 minutes.

45 changes: 45 additions & 0 deletions condiments/chile_de_arbol_sauce.md
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Salsa de chile de árbol
=======================

This is a go-to taco sauce in western Mexico and probably elsewhere. You can
mix and match the techniques in the two variants presented here, and substituting
or adding chiles is a ramp onto the combinatorial superhighway of Mexican food and
can demystify the salsa bar at the local taquería.

# Red

* dried whole *chiles de árbol*
* tomatoes
* onion
* *optionally*, garlic

Take between .3 and 1 chiles per tomato, remove the stems and put them in a
saucepan with a tablespoon or two of oil (olive, soy, etc.) The pan and oil should be very
hot and the chiles should seem to be at risk of burning. Rotate the
chiles around and let them get dark brown to black without actually burning them —
this can happen quickly, which is good because your eyes, nose, and lungs
may reach their maximum vaporized chile tolerance during this step.

Add a bunch of chopped onion and garlic and lower the heat. Cut the tomatoes
in half and throw them in with salt to taste. Cook until the tomatoes look stewed.
If you have one of those blender wands that you can put directly in a saucepan,
you can blend everything now (you may end up making this sauce frequently enough
to justify the purchase of a blender wand.) Otherwise wait until the mixture
is not hot and blend it in a standard blender.

# Green

* dried whole *chiles de árbol*
* green tomatillos
* onion
* cilantro

Take between .1 and .5 chiles per tomatillo, remove the stems and put them in a bare, hot saucepan.
Toast the chiles without oil until they are dark. Add halved or quartered tomatillos, salt, and a
tablespoon or two of water to prevent burning the chiles before the tomatillos release
their juices. When the mixture has cooked for as long as you can stand to wait, remove
the heat and let it cool. Blend and place in a little salsa bowl and heap with finely
chopped onion and cilantro.

One non-obvious little point is that skipping the oil in the chile roasting-toasting
step seems to increase the spiciness of the final product.

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