My son brought me some green sauce from a Mexican Restaurant Temecula California. He was crazy about this sauce! Of course he couldn’t get the recipe from Rose and wanted to see if I could duplicate it by taste. I got pretty close, close enough that he was not sure which was the original and mine. I am writing this down now so Rose’s secret is out for everyone!
Try this with my crispy artichoke tacos. Recipe here!
Rose's Chili Verde hot Sauce
Rose was the name of the restaurant and owner of Rose's Restaurant in Temecula California. She refused to give my son the recipe because it's been handed down for generations. Can't blame her! I may not have the exact recipe but I tasted and sampled my way to a pretty close rendition.This is a very piquant and multi-layered sauce. Delicious on enchiladas and tacos. I imagine it would be a very good base for a white bean chili as well!
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tomatillos
- 1/2 Sweet onion like vidalia
- 6 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Limes About 4 Tablespoons
- 1 Lemon About 4 Tablespoons
- 3 TBSP Rice Vinegar Slightly sweet, white vinegar
- 1 bunch Cilantro Good handful
- 1 TBSP Epazote See note
- 1/2 Habanero pepper See notes
- 1 Serrano pepper
- 2 Anaheim or hatch chili peppers
- 1/4 Bell Pepper Use yellow or green
- 1/2 TSP each Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove seeds and stems from the peppers. Set aside 1/2 the habanero. Add peppers to a blender.
- Juice the lemons and limes and add juice and vinegar to the blender.
- Peel onions and garlic and add to the blender. You can use 1 tbsp of minced garlic if you prefer.
- Remove husk from tomatillo's, Wash well to remove the stickiness. Cut out the core and remove the stem. Cut into quarters and add to the blender.
- Wash cilantro and add to blender.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the blender. Blend on high until completely smooth!
- Taste and add in the other half of habanero if you want more heat.
- Pour into quart jar. Will keep up to four weeks if refrigerated.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep recipe
This sauce had a flavor I just could not put my finger on! I remembered that areas in Baja California used an herb called epazote. I had never tasted it but figured it had to be that. My son found some dried epazote for me and THAT was the flavor I was looking for.
This was a very fresh tasting sauce so I did not roast anything or cook it in any way. Doing so would mellow the flavors but would still be fabulous! Try roasting the tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic for a different take!
When choosing your peppers, try to use all green or yellow. If you choose to use a red pepper, chop it separately and add it to the final blended sauce. This will provide a nice contrast and keep your sauce a bright green.
Rose's original sauce was very well blended. You can make it chunky by pulsing the ingredients together if you prefer more of a salsa.
