Shake the small, dried medium-hot cascabel chile, and its seeds rattle (in Spanish, cascabel means rattle). Woodsy and smoky, it is a wonderful choice for this richly flavored salsa made with roasted tomatoes and garlic, toasted pumpkin seeds, and caramelized onion. Good with hearty meats from grilled beef to dark-fleshed game like buffalo.

　　

Ingredients

makes 2 cups

　　3 tablespoons vegetable oil

　　1/2 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

　　12 ounces tomatoes, blackened (page 164)

　　12 dried cascabel chiles, dry-roasted (page 152), stemmed, seeded, and rehydrated

　　2 cloves garlic, dry-roasted (page 158)

　　5 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted (page 162)

　　1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

　　

Step 1

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the diced onion until it begins to caramelize, about 5 minutes. In the jar of a blender, add the onion, tomatoes, cascabel chiles with their soaking water, garlic, pumpkin seeds, and salt and puree until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh strainer.

　　

Step 2

To refry, in a large, heavy nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over high heat until almost smoking. Pour in the puree at once, tilting the pan away from you as the puree will spatter; remove from the heat, stirring to blend. If necessary, refry the puree in batches; you want to refry no more than 1/2 inch of puree in the pan at one time.

　　Tacos by Mark Miller with Benjamin Hargett and Jane Horn. Copyright © 2009 by Mark Miller with Benjamin Hargett and Jane Horn. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Mark Miller is the acclaimed chef-founder of Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has started and owned thirteen different restaurants on three continents from 1979 to 2008. He is the author of ten books with nearly 1 million copies in print, including Tacos, The Great Chile Book, The Great Salsa Book, and Coyote Cafe. Mark currently works in International Culinary Consulting and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Benjamin Hargett is a travel-loving chef who has cooked in Europe, the Carribean, Mexico, and the United States, where he worked with Mark Miller at the Coyote Café for many years.