Pasilla Raisin Salsa

By Shaylie

Pasilla means "raisin" in Spanish, so we thought it was only natural to combine these crinkly,
black, mildly hot dried chiles with the dried grapes that share their name. The resulting salsa has a
rich, ketchup-like quality—and we mean that as a compliment. Its sweet-hot-tart flavor goes well
with que.saclillas, though we've been known to slather it on a burger, too.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 5 medium Roma tomatoes, cored and halved
• 10 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, halved and seeded
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• minced scallions, for garnish
• cilantro, for garnish

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

In a small bowl, combine raisins and balsamic vinegar, and set aside.
Preheat the broiler. On a foil-lined baking sheet, place tomatoes skin side up. Broil tomatoes until skins begin to blacken.
Remove tomatoes from the oven, and place them in a medium pot. Add pasillas, salt and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring often.
While tomato mixture is cooking, in a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds until pale brown and fragrant. Remove from the pan, and let cool.
Add white vinegar to tomato mixture, and cook for 1 minute. Add toasted almonds and raisin-balsamic mixture. Let cool briefly, then pour entire mixture into a
blender, and carefully blend until smooth.
Pour salsa into a container, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with scallions and cilantro, and serve.