Tuesday's Cupful: Enchilada Sauces

Different colors to fit your mood
Spice it up with red, green, and white enchilada sauces. Chefs can alternate which color enchilada sauce to use for different variations of the same Tex-Mex dish. Here is a short primer on these three different enchilada sauces:

Red Enchilada Sauce (Enchilada Salsa Roja): This usually contains dried and fresh red chiles. The addition of tomato puree or tomato paste creates the red color. Most red sauces call for chili powder.

Green Enchilada Sauce (Enchilada Salsa Verde): This has a refreshing and light flavor from the fresh green chiles that are its main ingredient.

Both red and green enchilada sauces usually call for minced garlic, diced onions, and measured amounts of cumin, salt, and pepper.

White Enchilada Sauce (Enchilada Salsa Blanca): This puts the Tex in Tex-Mex. It’s the most American of all three enchilada sauces and may (sometimes) only consist of sour cream or crema. More elaborate white sauces contain condensed soup. White sauces may sometimes contain the addition of fresh herbs, lime juice, and minced fresh green chiles.