Salsa de Adobo

This Mexican Adobo sauce, adapted from Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman’s Tacos: Recipes and Provocations, has wonderful bright and deep flavor, and it freezes beautifully. We use it to marinate lamb for barbacoa; you can also coat pork or chicken in it to marinate before grilling or braising. It’s also great stirred into sour cream for a dip (add some salt), or used in place of harissa to spice up a wide variety of dishes.

Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Ingredients

5 ancho chiles

5 guajillo chiles

3 whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

One 2-inch stick of Mexican cinnamon, broken into a few pieces

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

5 garlic cloves, skin on

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Remove the stems from the chiles, tear an opening into each, shake out and discard the seeds. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for a few minutes till the skillet is hot. Add the cloves, cumin, cinnamon stick pieces, peppercorns and oregano and toast them, shaking the pan, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove the spices from the pan and grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder.

2. Reheat the skillet over medium heat. Toast the ancho and guajillo chiles, turning them with tongs a few times, for about 30 seconds. Transfer the chiles to a medium bowl, cover them with boiling water and place plate over them (weighting it if necessary) to keep them submerged. Let the chiles soak for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, reheat the skillet, add the garlic cloves and roast them, turning them with tongs a few times, until they're slightly softened and a little charred, about 6 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the cloves and set them aside until they're cool enough to handle, then pop them out of their skins with your fingers and discard the skins.

4. Drain the chiles and place them in a food processor with the ground spices, roasted garlic, vinegar and salt and purée to a paste.  Use about 3/4 of a cup to coat the lamb; store the rest in the refrigerator (for up to a week) or the freezer (for up to a month) until ready to use it.