Place chile, pepitas, garlic, pepper, salt, oil, vinegar and cothija cheese in blender or food processor. Blend about 10 seconds, then add cilantro, bit by bit, until smoothly blended.

Place mayonnaise and water in large stainless-steel bowl and whisk until smooth. Add blended chile mixture and mix thoroughly. Place in airtight container and refigerate. Dressing may be stored up to three days.

You can substitute cacique or Parmesan cheese for the cotija. Also, it's not complete without the crispy fried tortilla crumbled over the top and the extra pepita seeds. The recipe tells you to fry corn tortillas in oil, drain & crumble them. But I used crunched up lime and chili flavored Tostitos instead. Yields 2 cups.

roasted, peeled and seeded

We substitute two or more fresh poblanos (pasillas in California), depending on how hot they're running...

Will Borgeson <szborges@peseta. Ucdavis. Edu>

From the Chile-Heads recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive, http://www. Erols. Com/hosey.