I have chilis growing in my garden. They’ve been ripening over the last week or two and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to make. I feel like enchiladas and chili enchilada sauce is the obvious answer..?
Especially since every time that I try to search for recipes with red chilis, I just end up with… well, chili. Millions and millions of search results on how to make chili!
And I don't know about you, but personally I don't like chili. I don’t tend to eat meat and I have a rather visceral dislike for the smell of chili con carne.
My sister in high school used to live in the basement because the room was absolutely enormous and had its own thermostat. But she used to not want to have to come upstairs to cook, so she would just microwave chili down there and the entire basement would often smell like chili.
This was right when I was trying to convey to my family that I didn’t ethically want to support slaughterhouses. So, an entire part of the house smelling like microwaved meat soup during my progression as a vegetarian? Really just left me with a horrible taste for the smell of chili!
So, onto chili enchilada sauce! Which is quite honestly the best thing that I've made this summer and will forever be a staple in my culinary arsenal after this.
Note that in the photos here I started with 2 tomatoes and in the recipe I added a third. Two would have been entirely fine, but I was experimenting and did end up adding a third!
Gallery
Variations of Red Chili Enchilada Sauce
With all of the peppers that I grew this year, I kept making enchilada sauce all summer long! Whenever I ran out, I just picked whatever was ripe at the time and started a new batch.
Homemade enchilada sauce is the perfect go-between salsa and hot sauce. Add as much or as little kick as you want by substituting different types of peppers. This recipe combines red chilis, tomatoes, garlic, red onions, cumin, salt, pepper, and water. Most of which were homegrown from my porch garden.
Place the chilis, tomatoes, garlic, and onion in the air fryer. It can help to cut the tomatoes and onion in half and pierce the chilis with a knife so they don't burst while cooking.Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to break this up into multiple batches. I cooked the peppers and the rest of the fruits and vegetables separately. You can also substitute any other roasting method of choice. An oven or BBQ would do just fine. It's more to get a char flavor than explicitly necessary.
Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes, or until lightly charred. The skin should begin to brown, but not entirely blacken or shrivel. You're trying to roast them, not dry them!
First Cook
Add all of the ingredients, including the roasted vegetables, spices, and water, to a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.The purpose of this initial cook is to soften the ingredients and make them easier to blend. If you have a high-powered blender, this step is less important and you can skip it if you want. If you're using dried, instead of fresh, chilis, though, skip the roasting step and go straight to this one.
After 15 minutes, remove from heat and let cool to the touch.
Blend
Once the pot is cool, add the mixture to a food processor. Blend until pureed completely.In my Vitamix or Cuisinart Food Processor this takes about 15-20 seconds. In another blender, this might take a minute or two.Just be careful not to inhale the mixture when you open the lid! It's quite spicy.
Second Cook
Add the sauce to a large pot again.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for another 20 minutes, or until thickened. Make sure to stir occasionally.If the mixture reduces too quickly, reduce the heat or add more water 1 tbsp at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Stir constantly during this time.
Serve immediately or refrigerate. With so many hot peppers, this enchilada sauce will last a good while in the refrigerator.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
If you do air fry the vegetables for too long, don't fret too much. You'll still end up boiling the ingredients and they will re-hydrate. You're pretty much okay with any amount of char as long as you don't seriously burn them.
You can substitute any kind of pepper of choice. Even dried peppers will re-hydrate as you simmer them. If you don't have fresh chilis or other peppers and want to use dried ones, just skip the roasting step and go straight to the cooking stage.
A Vitamix also blends pretty smoothly. If you are using a type of blender that doesn’t liquify, you can strain the mixture to remove any leftover chunks. Generally, more liquid will result in a smoother consistency, but this isn’t guaranteed and can result in a watered down flavor. Although you can potentially add more liquid to blend and then cook longer to simmer down afterwards.
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