Mouth-on-Fire Salsa

My friend Michael Torres showed me how to make this salsa. It’s a staple he always has in his fridge, and now I do too. His tip: “Make sure the veggies and peppers are quemada!” That’s right, go beyond merely charring them to basically burning the outside of them (quemada means “burnt” in Spanish). It’s what gives this salsa its incredibly rich, smoky, intense flavor. You’ll find yourself dousing everything with it – a pan of scrambled eggs, a grilled rib-eye steak , a sandwich, quesadillas – and your chips and salsa will be taken to a whole new level. If you want to go crazy, add a chipotle chile to the blender. Alternatively, if you want to tone down the heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeños and reduce the amount of chiles de árbol, or omit them.