IntI spent all of last year making enchilada sauce! And I have finally gotten to the point where my peppers and tomatoes are ripening. Wisconsin had a horrendous spring this year with snow in April and frost well into May! So, all of the slow ripening produce took what seemed like an eternity to grow! And, while the late start and torrential downpours in between sweltering heat certainly didn't help. The season is finally upon us! And I am pleased to announce the first enchilada sauce of the season.
My first peppers to reach the adequate number to make enchilada sauce are red chilis. This plant actually wintered over from last year. I took a couple of my favorite plants inside to see if they could survive through the winter. Several of them continued to produce fruit well into thee winter and then died off when even my living room got too chilly for them and there wasn't enough sunlight to sustain them. They also brought in aphids, which were a nightmare to get rid of!
This little chili plant made it all winter and then came back in spring, though, and managed to be the first plant to produce the 20 peppers needed to make enchilada sauce. Which I am quite excited about!
Red chilis pack quite a little punch and work incredibly well in cooked sauces. You can almost never find them fresh, either, because the peppers don't keep well. They start to dry and shrivel while still on the vine! So, trying to get them to a grocery store is a relatively fruitless endeavor. You can easily swap out jalapeños, serranos, or whatever peppers you have on hand. As well as use dried red chilis and rehydrate them by lightly simmering on the stove.
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I cannot tell you why I didn't cut off the stems on the peppers... Cut off the stems on the peppers! Doing that would also help prevent them from exploding in the Air Fryer. They do add quite the earthy flavor, though, if you're looking for something to cut the heat slightly.
Variations of Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada sauce is one of my favorite things to make. It's not quite as finicky as hot sauce, but has a more complex flavor profile than salsa. I spent all year making it with every sort of pepper. Ranging from red chilis to habaneros, jalapeños, and ghost peppers. This is the sort of recipe where you can easily substitute in and out whatever peppers you have on hand or to your own particular taste.
This enchilada sauce combines red chili peppers, cherry tomatoes, garlic, red onion, cumin, salt, and pepper. The produce is quickly and easily roasted in an air fryer, simmered on the stove, and blended in a food processor. Feel free to substitute your own peppers and tomatoes of choice to adjust for your own taste and spice level.
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 for 7-12 minutes, or until the produce is lightly charred. The skin should begin to brown, but not entirely blacken or shrivel. You're trying to roast them, not dry them!The chilis and garlic will roast at about the 7 minute mark. While the tomatoes and onion are more around 10-12 minutes, depending on the size.
Let cool to the touch.
Blend
Once the produce are cool, add a food processor with 2 cups of water.
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.
Cook
Add the pureed mixture to a large pot with the additional 1 cup water and the salt, pepper, and cumin.You can blend all of the water together when you puree it, but I found that it was easier to add 2/3 of the water then finish thinning it in the pot. None of this will effect cooking, though. Add as more or as little water as you need to puree the ingredients and then add the rest before cooking!
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes, or until thickened to the desired consistency. Make sure to stir occasionally.
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 with the first simmer. 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 first cooking stage.
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