Salsa Arriera "Mule Driver's" Salsa

Any budding aficionado of Mexican cuisine should have one - or the whole collection - of Diana Kennedy's cook books. Therein you'll find a rich resource of dishes - obscure and well known - that should keep you occupied for a lifetime.

A fiery salsa that I like from her book, The Essential Cuisines,  is salsa arriera, a simple and quick sauce eaten on hot tortillas with strong white cheese. 

First, 20 chilie serranos are blistered and charred on a comal, hot griddle or cast iron pan.

Removed the stems, and while still hot, grind the chilies with 2 T. roughly chopped white onion, 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped, sea salt and a few T. of water. Do this in a molcajete if you have one, or use a blender on the pulse mode.

I prefer a molcajete.

Grind to a rough paste. Taste for salt. 

(The other day a few of these serranos had no heat, but this time, they redeemed themselves some what. If you do buy a batch of serranos or jalapenos that are searingly picante, you can always remove seeds from half the amount, after they're roasted). 

We had it for breakfast this morning on hot tortillas. Goat cheese on one, scrambled eggs on an another.