From tacos to enchiladas: The sauce that's the secret to making tasty Mexican dishes



MILWAUKEE -- Could your tacos use a touch up? Chef Michael Feker joins Real Milwaukee with a salsa recipe you can incorporate into multiple Mexican dishes.

Red Enchilada Salsa 

Ingredients
• 16 guajillo chiles
• 2 tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion stem removed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions
1. Remove the stems, seeds, and de-veine the chiles.
2. Crush the cloves of garlic with the peel and rough chop the onion with the peel.
3. Rough cut the cilantro including the stem.
4. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan.
5. Cover with enough water so that the ingredients, are submerged.
6. Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat to low.
7. Simmer for 1 minute then turn off the heat.
8. Allow the ingredients to soak for 15 minutes.
9. Pour all of the ingredients including the soaking water into the blender.
10. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add a little water if needed to blend.
11. Strain the mixture back into a bowl. Discard the paste that remains in the strainer.
12. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in your saucepan over medium heat then add the strained salsa.
13. Turn the heat to low.
14. Simmer the salsa for 30 minutes until it thickens. The salsa will darken in color during this time.

Chef Feker's notes
I let the sauce rest for 3 hours or overnight before using it. That way the flavor of the salsa will deepen. The onion will help with the bitterness of the chile, but if you find the salsa to be too bitter for your tastes, add 1 tablespoon of Wisconsin honey to reduce the bitterness. This salsa freezes well. Portion it in freezer bags and it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer.