Mexican Table Sauce

If you have been following my site for some time, you are probably well aware that Mexican food is a good source of comfort for my family.  I would say that once a week we are either having a taco or nacho night with an array of toppings to choose from. Whether it be cheeses, guacamole, salsas, onions, peppers, tomatoes, or lettuce, you can be sure that the kids have choices that night, and to me, that is the fun part about taco night.

I find the simple things in a taco, and I prefer mine with simple, yet complex meats such as al pastor or carne asada, and topped simply with a bit of diced onion, chopped cilantro, and drizzled with what I call Mexican table sauce.

If you have been to an authentic Mexican restaurant, you will notice that on many of the tables they have sauces, and not salsas. Granted, they might offer a salsa to cover the average eater, but many offer a few sauces. They can be green, orange, or red, and offer a level of heat. Simply put, I love them, and have been going out of my way to make a sauce that pleases most everyone in terms of heat, texture, and flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 large regular tomatoes, and 3 roma tomatoes, top core removed
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved
• 2 serrano chilis, stem removed
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of cilantro
• Juice of 2 limes, approximately 1/4 cup
• Salt, to taste
• Olive oil, to drizzle

The trick here is to roast most of your ingredients on high heat, getting a nice char to them. So let’s begin.

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. During this time add the tomatoes, onion, and serrano chilis to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil, and place them in the preheated oven for roughly 25-30 minutes, or until they have completely charred. Remove from the oven and let them cool.

When the vegetables have cooled, removed the skin from the tomatoes, and discard. Place the tomatoes, onions, serranos, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice into a blender or food processor. Blend into a sauce, so you are going to basically pulse this into a puree, however, I will let you decide if you want to leave it a bit chunky for any textural purposes.

Pour into a serving bowl, and taste. Season with salt to get your desired saltiness.

My wife and I both agreed that this was probably the best sauce I have made, and I finally got it down to the simple ingredients and proper roasting time. Give this a shot, and let me know what you think.