RE: [CH] Chipolte
Garry Howard (garry@netrelief.com)
Mon, 23 Nov 1998 23:12:56 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
> [mailto:owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com]On Behalf Of Suzanne
>
> Here is a recipe Judy posted last year for chipotle en adobo.
>
Here's one I posted not too long ago.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Chipotles En Adobo (My Mexico)
Recipe By : My Mexico by Diana Kennedy
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Condiments Mexican
Sauces
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 ounces chipotle chiles (moras) -- about 60
3 ancho chiles -- remove seeds & veins
1 1/2 cups water
4 cloves garlic -- roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh marjoram -- OR
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 sprigs fresh thyme -- OR
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch cumin seeds -- crushed
1 bay leaf -- torn to small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup mild vinegar (pineapple in Mexico) -- OR
half rice and half wine vinegar
3/4 cup strong vinegar
2 ounces dark brown sugar - firmly packed -- about 1/3 cup
1 tablespoon sea salt
Preface: From The Journey North - Torreon to Chihuahua
This part of Chihuahua is quite an important chile-growing area as well, and
while the greatest part of the crop is dried, fresh chiles are also used:
"chile de arbol", "guajillo" (confusingly called "cascabel" there),
"jalapeno", and "chilaca" or Anaheim. The "chilaca", or "chile verde", the
long slender light green chile that ranges from mild to hot, is the one
featured most commonly in the cooking of Chihuahua. While it is used fresh,
or dried as "chile de la tierra" or "chile colorado", there is an
interesting variation: it is charred and peeled and then hung up to dry,
whole, without removing seeds and veins. In this state it is known as the
"chile pasado". I warn you, if you do this, 1 pound will reduce to 2 ounces.
But it is well worth it because when rehydrated before cooking this chile
has a delicious flavor and enhances the stews or "rellenos" or "chile con
queso" in which it is used. In recent years mushroom cultivation has been
introduced, and now the preferred filling for "chiles rellenos" is a mixture
of mushrooms and cheese.
The crop of jalapenos, while still green, is mostly destined for the canning
industry; once they ripen to red, their value is diminished. Not so many
years ago they were simply thrown away in the latter stage, until Don
Juventino Santos, an enterprising man from Tulancingo, Hidalgo, who was in
the chile business, decided to smoke-dry them for "chipotle mora".
When we were driving out from Camargo the following day to visit the Lago
Toronto, the air was filled with the aroma of smoke and chiles, andd there,
a few yards from the roadside, were huge rectangular cement-block structures
about twelve feet high. At intervals around the base were fire boxes filled
with glowing, smoking logs. Spread out in a thin layer over the slatted
surface were deep red, wrinkled jalapenos - the color darkens as the smoking
process progresses. A man with a shovel was turning them over from time to
time. The farther we drove out of twon, the more small communities
("ejidos") we saw and visited that were also dedicated to smoking chiles,
and as we drove back that afternoon there were trucks tipping out their
loads of the ripened jalapenos onto the newly vacated smoking beds.
This smoke-drying process takes several days in which time the weight of the
chiles is reduced to one seventh that of the fresh. The smoked chiles are so
cheap that one wonders how on earth anyone makes any money out of it at all.
We bought sackfuls to support the local economy and distributed them
lavishly to all the cooks we knew along the route back and in Michoacan.
They were extraordinarily picante, owing to the hot, dry summer. A recipe
for them pickled "en escabeche" can be found in "The Art of Mexican
Cooking", and following is a recipe for chipotles "en adobo".
Preserving chiles by smoke-drying dates from pre-columbian times, and the
basic process, albeit with slightly different techniques is still used
today.
Jalapeno chiles - ripened, smoke-dried, and prepared in a pungent sauce for
chipotles "en adobo" - have taken the American gastronomic world by storm.
They are everywhere, the condiment of the decade, mixed with anything and
everything: in sauces, seasoning pastes, soups, salads, breads, etc. (not
yet I sincerely hope, in ice cream). There are two types of "chipotles": the
larger, highly smoked, tobacco-colored one and the smaller mulberry-colored
(as the name implies) "mora" - not to be confused with "moritas", which are
smaller. When I first came to Mexico many years ago, the larger
light-colored chiles were more in evidence, canned in a light pickle,
"escabeche". Today the canning industry seems to favor the "mora", possibly
because its smaller size lends itself to the small cans.
Of the many brands exported from Mexico, my preference is for those packed
in a darker-colored sauce, a real "adobo", rather those in a more acidic,
tomato-based sauce. Of course, it is always interesting to make your own,
without preservatives and fresh, for which I give a recipe here. This
preparation is pungent; a milder version is given in the note that follows
the recipe.
Rinse the chipotle chiles and drain. Pierce each one right through with a
sharp fork or skewer, put them into the pressure cooker with water to cover,
and cook at low pressure for about 15 munutes - they should be soft but not
mushy. (If you are not using a pressure cooker, cook over fairly low heat,
tightly covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.)
Drain the chiles, remove the stems, and wipe off any stray seeds clinging to
the outside.
Set aside.
Meanwhile, cover the ancho chiles with hot water and simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain and transfer to a blender. Add 1 cup of the water, the garlic, herbs,
seeds, and bay leaf plus 4 of the cooked chipotles and blend until almost
smooth.
Heat the oil in a shallow pan, add the blended ingredients, and fry for
about 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking. Add the
vindgars, the rest of the water, the sugar, and the salt and cook for 5
minutes more. Then add the rest of the cooked chiles and cook over low heat,
scraping the bottom of the pan from time to time to prevent sticking, until
the sauce has reduced and thickened - about 15 minutes.
Store in the refrigerator or sterilize and store in a cool place.
Makes about 3 cups.
NOTE: If you prefer a less pungent version of this recipe, cook the chiles
first for about 5 minutes. Drain, slit them open, and remove the seeds and
what remains of the veins. Discard the water and start at the beginning of
the recipe, reducing the cooking time by about 5 minutes. If you wish to
have a lighter sauce, add another 6 ounces of tomatoes to the adobo.
Compliments of Garry's Home Cookin'
http://cooking.netrelief.com
Garry Howard - Cambridge, MA
garry@netrelief.com
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