Chile Pepper Knock-Off Salsa

Michael is from Yuma, Arizona. From what I can gather, the only good thing about being from Yuma is a little restaurant there called Chile Pepper. Whenever Michael’s mom travels to Yuma and back, she brings back bags of burritos, rolled tacos, and containers of their signature salsa. A friend of the family developed a knock-off recipe that I have since improved slightly. Here it is:

The Ingredients

• 8 1/2 ounces ultra crushed tomatoes – or, essentially, tomatoes pulsed to oblivion in the blender. The original knock-off recipe called for an actual 8oz can of tomato sauce and 4oz of water, but I have upgraded this to something that closer resembles an actual tomato. Whatever you use, the key is  that it’s tomato-y and it’s smooth. No chunks in this salsa.
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 T Mexican oregano.
• 3 cloves of crushed garlic
• 2 t chile de arbol crushed red peppers
• 1/2 T dry minced onion

The Directions

I’ve only been able to find the chile de arbol as dried whole chilies, so I disintegrate those first in the blender. Then, I add the remaining ingredients and blend until the sauce is completely smooth. When I make this, I triple or quadruple the recipe, and it maybe lasts the week. Maybe.