Pasilla Chile Sauce

Cut the chiles into pieces and submerge into a bowl of hot water to cover, and soak 20 minutes.

Put the soaked chiles in a blender jar and discard the water. Add the vinegar, tomato sauce, onion, cumin seed, and peppercorns. Blend until smooth (The sauce will be about as thick as ketchup).

Heat the oil in a small saucepan add the sauce and cook, stirring, 3 minutes to blend the flavors. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Stir in the tomato, cilantro, and salt. Transfer to a medium bowl and serve.

NOTE: Pasilia (or pasilla negro) chiles are long, slender, and nearly black dried chiles. For this robust table sauce, there is really no substitute for the black chile that's quite easy to identify by its color and shape. Pasillas are grown in central Mexico and much of northern Mexico.