Scratch-Made Chili Paste

• 5 fresh serrano peppers
• 5 fresh habanero peppers
• 3 dried ancho peppers
• 3 dried guajillo peppers
• Optional: a few dried árbol chilis
• Just-boiled water, enough to cover the dried peppers

Method

1. 1

   Prep the dried peppers: de-seed the anchos, guajillos, and árbols (if using), cut or tear them into strips, and rinse in a colander.

2. 2

   Toast the strips in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, briefly — fragrant, not scorched.

3. 3

   Steep — don't boil. Pour just-boiled water over the toasted peppers, cover, and steep off the heat for 25–30 minutes until fully pliable. Boiling them extracts bitterness and drives off the aromatics you just toasted them to develop.

4. 4

   While the dried peppers steep, prep the fresh ones: de-seed and cut up the serranos and habaneros. Wear gloves — the dried peppers are mild, but the fresh ones are not. Rinse them, then add to a food processor or bullet blender. Don't blend yet.

5. 5

   Strain the rehydrated chilis and save the soaking water — it carries a lot of chili flavor and replaces the water in the chili recipe. Taste it first: it ranges from liquid gold to bitter depending on the batch. If it tastes bitter, use plain water in the chili instead.

6. 6

   Add the rehydrated chilis to the blender with the fresh ones, add a bit of the reserved stock, and blend. If it's too thick, add more stock. You're aiming for something thicker than tomato sauce but thinner than tomato paste. It doesn't need to be perfect — it's going into chili — you just don't want it chunky.

7. 7

   Use immediately, or portion and freeze for up to a few months.