Secret Santa Fe Red Chile Sauce

Several years ago, my Santa Fe sister-in-law passed this Red Chile Sauce recipe on to me. At the time, it was supposed to be a secret recipe used in one of Santa Fe’s popular restaurants. But time has passed, and I feel no obligation to continue to keep it a secret. Aren’t you glad?

Santa Fe red sauce is never tomato-based. This particular recipe is easy to make, contains no fat, and strikes all the right notes. You can make it as mild or hot as you like. I make up a big pot and use it in chile, on enchiladas, in posole and other soups and stews, plus chile conqueso. I buy Chimayo ground red chile when I can get it, but the red chile powder available in packages in the grocery store will suffice.

Makes: 5 cups chile sauce    Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 8 tablespoons New Mexico red chile     powder (mild or hot – you choose) 6 tablespoons flour 1 medium garlic head, crushed 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cumin seed, crushed ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 5 cups water, divided

Directions 1. In a saucepan combine all the dry ingredients (chile powder, flour, cumin, cinnamon). 2. Very slowly, add 1 cup of water, stirring to avoid lumps. 3. Sir in the remaining 4 cups of water and add the garlic. 4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce will be watery. Refrigerate and store in a glass container. Keeps for about a month. (I keep it longer, but offer no guarantees.) Makes enough for about 1½dozen enchiladas.

​I’ll be posting a few recipes that use this sauce, so stay tuned. If you find more uses, I’d love to hear about them in the posted comments. 

Good cooking to you,

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