Ranchero Sauce II
Ah yes, a ranchero sauce for us gringos. There’s enough heat to make the sauce interesting, but not enough to be painful! Very tasty; even Our Kate of the Sensitive Mouth ate it. I confess that I normally double up the recipe and freeze some for later. My frozen peppers come in 16oz packets, and I’d rather not have 1/2 tin of tomatoes left in the fridge afterwards. Its flavor is remarkably ‘fresh’ despite the tinned ingredients. Even the jalapeño is tinned, which I buy ready roasted and chopped in small cans from the supermarket. I guess for hardened Mexican food eaters, this is a reasonable quantity to use up in a short amount of time. We, however, only eat small amounts, so whenever I open a tin, I tip the rest into a small freezer bag, and freeze (flattened out so it’s easy to break off small pieces) for later use.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tsps of sugar if necessary to counteract acidic tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 14 oz (1/2 large tin) chopped tinned tomatoes, with juices
- 1 tsp dried oregano, or equivalent of fresh
- 3/4 – 1 tsp jalapeño chili, minced
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup (8 oz) mixed sliced peppers (frozen is O.K.)
- 1/2 cup onion (~1/4 of a large onion), diced
- 1 tbsp margarine (I use Earth Balance)
Instructions
- Check seasoning, and serve hot.
- Return to the pan (if you used a processor) and simmer until the sauce has thickened (~5 minutes).
- Either transfer the sauce to a full size food processor or use a stick blender, and pulse to reduce all lumps to no bigger than a pea, but do not puree.
- Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a further 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- Melt the margarine in a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat, and gently cook the onion, peppers, garlic, and chili for about 10 minutes.