Emulsion made from roasted chile de árbol, tomato, garlic, and onion, balanced with honey, lime, and salt. It can be made year round, even with lousy roma tomatoes. You will want to keep this on hand and put it on everything.
Orange Sauce

~16 oz

sauce spicy

Ingredients

Perishable

  • 3 roma tomatoes1
  • 1/2 yellow or white onion
  • 2-4 garlic cloves
  • 1 lime

Not

  • 1-8 chile de árbol2
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1-2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Steps

  1. Set oven to broil with rack on top rack. Set water to boil.
  2. Prep sheet pan with tomatoes (slice larger ones in half), separated onion layers, and garlic cloves (skins on). Spray with vegetable oil.
  3. Broil until tomatoes/onion/garlic has a good char, 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then remove skins from garlic
  4. Meanwhile, put chiles in a small glass bowl and pour over boiling water. Bonus points if you have a slightly smaller bowl that can help submerge the chiles. Let soak for ~5 minutes, then drain
  5. Combine everything into blender. Use a spatula to get all of the juices from the sheet pan
  6. Blend on the highest setting for ~30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and taste, in case it needs more honey, salt, or lime. Then blend for another ~30 seconds

Notes

  1. Tomatoes => romas have a meaty texture and are the best for sauce. But this recipe works well with cherry tomatoes or whatever you have on hand
  2. Spice Levels => Using grocery store salsa as a reference
    1. mild -> 1-2 chiles
    2. medium -> 3-4 chiles
    3. hot -> 5-6 chiles
    4. extra hot -> 7-8 chiles