Salsa de siete chiles

The Seven Chiles Salsa (Salsa de siete chiles)

To anyone exploring mexican food, the chiles are an important ingredient that simply can not be avoided and it is interesting to note that there is a very wide variety of them in nature. The chiles are differentiated from each other by their color (red, green or yellow), taste (sweet, smokey or spicy), their shape (elongated or flared, big or small) and their texture (fresh or dried).

The substance that makes peppers hot is called capsaicin. A Chile never contains more than 2 percent of this substance, which, since ages ago is perceived as having curative properties and is of great value in the human diet. Chiles also carry many good nutrients and vitamins.

A meal that use chiles is reputed to accelerate the metabolic rate by a percentage, causing an additional amount of calories be consumed thus reducing dietary fat; but the main reason for using them is that they are a great way to add flavor to foods without a single gram of fat.

Recipe for Salsa of 7 Chilies:

Ingredients:

* 6 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1/2 cup corn oil
* 2 chiles de arbol dried,
* 2 roasted guajillo chilies,
* 2 bell peppers,
* 2 chipotle peppers,
* 2 morita chilies,
* 1 ancho chile,
* pasilla chile,
* 1 large ripe red tomato, finely chopped
* Salt to taste
* 2 sprigs of epazote finely chopped
* 3 sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup vinegar

Procedure:

1) Wash the chiles, then cut and remove all stems from them, discard the seeds and veins; put all dry chiles in hot water for a few minutes.

2) Roast slightly the garlic in a pan with hot oil. Add the chile peppers, the tomato, a bit of salt and cook over medium heat for five minutes, add the epazote and cilantro.

3) Simmer for a few minutes; using your blender, coarsely liquefy all ingredients together with half a cup of vinegar; there should still be bits of chiles left floating in the salsa...