Homemade red enchilada sauce

In general, I like to cook from scratch. However, there's no denying that I can be a bit lazy, and I won't deny that I occasionally open a jar of sauce. Just occasionally. At the end of a long day, who wants to stand there simmering sauce for hours on end?

Buuut, since I conquered sweet and sour sauce and it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought, I figured I should give enchilada sauce a go too. Turns out: it's insanely easy. Plus it takes about 5 minutes! Literally! There's honestly no reason to ever use jarred enchilada sauce again - if you make it yourself, not only can you know exactly what goes into it (no preservatives, colourings etc), but you can also adjust it to your own personal tastes. Do you like your enchiladas to be so spicy that your tongue goes numb? Add a touch more chilli powder or cayenne (but don't get carried away or you may ruin your dinner). Bit more of a wimp? Just add a touch less. Plus you can play around with adding different spices, maybe even a few dried herbs, until you end up with your perfect sauce.

Here's my version.

Seriously simple, seriously good. Look at how it coats the spoon, it's so satisfying it makes me want to weep. All it took was a tiny bit of oil, some flour, tomato purée, veggie stock and a few spices:

And you're done.

I assure you, you're going to want to come back later in the week to see what I made with this silky smooth sauce. They were the best enchiladas I've ever made ever ever ever, and they took about 20 minutes from start to finish, including making the sauce. Yesss.


Homemade red enchilada sauce

Makes enough enchiladas for 2-4 people

2tbsp cooking oil
1tbsp plain flour
1tsp cayenne chilli pepper
1tsp mild chilli powder
1/2tsp garlic powder
1tbsp tomato purée
200ml vegetable stock

In a saucepan, heat the oil slightly. Add the flour and spices, and cook over a very low heat for 1 minute, whisking continually. Then add the tomato purée and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, again whisking all the time. Add the vegetable stock, and whisk again to combine. Turn the heat up to medium, and once the sauce has begun to simmer, and has come together to form a silky sauce, it is ready to be used.