We – that’s both the artists-and-critics “we” and the people-in-general “we” – have a habit of conflating difficulty and quality. If something is hard to do, or hard to understand, we tell ourselves that it must also be in some way better than a similar thing that is simple or clear. This is a tendency that needs to be watched out for and kept on a tight leash, because for every complex and difficult thing that it encourages us to appreciate, there’s something plain and straightforward that it tempts us to pass by.
Herewith, by way of edible illustration, is a simple recipe that produces a better-than-store-bought enchilada sauce. (This comes in especially handy if you happen to live, as we do, in a locale where the grocery store doesn’t carry any strength higher than Medium.)
Red Enchilada Sauce:
2 T oil (canola or vegetable)
2 T flour
2 T chili powder
1 T cayenne
1 T powdered chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- Mix up the seasonings – chili powder through oregano – in a small bowl. (If the mix as given looks too hot for your taste, go with 4 T of mild chili powder instead of the chili powder/cayenne/chipotle mix. If you want an even higher octane, go with a 2 T chili powder/2 T cayenne mix, or experiment with other powdered hot peppers until you’ve got a blend you like.)
- In a saucepan, heat up the oil and add the flour. Mix it up and cook it for a minute, stirring so it doesn’t burn.
- Add the chili powder and other seasonings. Stir it up some more – it’ll be a thick paste.
- Add the chicken stock, and use a whisk to stir it up so that the mixture doesn’t clump up or stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Either use immediately or decant into a glass jar or similar container and use later.
This makes enough for one batch of enchiladas.
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