Salsa del Sol has a heat that matches an Arizona summer afternoon, while the combination of habañeros, chile manzanos, and orange bell peppers gives the salsa a complexion similar to the sun.
I was originally inspired to make a new salsa with habañeros after trying an incredible habañero salsa while I was visiting Todo Pa’ La Cruda at Barrio Logan in San Diego. It had been a while since I had a habañero salsa and theirs was so spicy and delicious with tacos de pescado. During my trip to San Diego I also found some dried habañeros at Northgate Gonzalez Market in National City that I took home with me for a future salsa.
The Rillito Park Farmers Market in Tucson gave me the final motivation I needed for Salsa del Sol, after spotting a variety of orange ingredients. Sungold tomatoes, orange bell peppers, and fresh habañeros all caught my eye for this new salsa.
To add to the orange theme of this dish, my garden still had chile manzanos ready to be picked. This is the first year I have been able to successfully grow these chiles in my garden, so I was excited to be able to include them in this salsa.
Salsa del Sol was a great topping for my chicken skewers and side dish for a summer dinner. The salsa is very spicy, but becomes an addictive treat for your taste buds. ¡Buen provecho!
INGREDIENTS
2 dried habañeros
1 chile de árbol
¾ cup of water
2 fresh habañeros
3 chile manzanos
3 orange bell peppers
2 cups sungold tomatoes
½ navel orange, juiced
½ white onion, roasted
2 garlic cloves, roasted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS
Start by roasting the dried habañeros and chile de árbol over medium heat on a comal (or roasting pan). Roast for 10 seconds on each side or until slightly darkened. Then transfer the chiles to a bowl filled with ¾ cup of water. Let the chiles soak in the water for 20 minutes before transferring to the blender. Do not discard the chile water, add it to the blender as well.
Next, roast the white onion and garlic cloves over medium-high heat for five minutes or until moderately charred on all sides. This can be done while the chiles are soaking in the water. Once onion and garlic have finished roasting, add them to the blender.
Remove the seeds and stems from the fresh habañeros, chile manzanos, and bell peppers. Place the peppers in the blender along with the juice from the orange, salt, pepper. Purée the ingredients for two minutes before serving.
Sunday Salsa 