Chile or Chili, it's Still Green.

Is it Chile or Chili? If it's the country in South America, it's Chile. If it's the singer from the group "TLC", it's Chilli; and when it's very cold outside, well that's Chilly. However, when it's the vegetable, it's the Green Chile Pepper, but when exactly does it become Chili? Then there's the plural, is it Chiles or Chilies? Confusing isn't it; and so many sources have so many definitions; so many recipes use the spellings so interchangeably.    Lets just get to the story of the Chile Pepper itself and the most popular one in the Southwest is the New Mexico Green Chile Pepper, primarily grown in Hatch, New Mexico.  Oh yes, there are numerous types of chile peppers within the United States, and worldwide, but I'm just going to focus on this one type for today's blog post.

Hatch chiles (ies) are available in a canned version, all roasted, seeded and peeled for you which is advantageous if you cannot find fresh chiles in your area.  This is what I had to do when I lived in Lancaster, PA, and while convenient, there was still that metallic taste from the aluminum cans to contend with.  Nope, there is no better alternative to fresh chiles than fresh chiles.
 

Roasting vegetables such as the chile pepper is actually not that difficult. No, you don't need that large barrel type roaster you may have seen on a cooking show; your own barbeque grill, stove top burner (gas only), or oven will do.  Do make sure to grease up the rack on your grill or in your oven; otherwise the chiles will stick and tear apart when being removed.

Remember, you can do the roasting techinque, not just for chile peppers, but those large bell peppers too. When jalapenos are roasted, they become known as chipotle, so be careful if you're one of those people who says, "I hate jalapenos, but love chipotles"; they're the same. Anyway, once the peppers are blackened, place them in a brown paper bag, seal it and let the steam from the peppers make your work easier. Once the peppers are warm to the touch, the skins will easily peel off; give the stems a twist and pull the seed pods right out. Give them a rinse, let them dry and they can be frozen for up to six months, or used immediately.

Two items you can make with your roasted peppers are Green Chile (or Chili) Sauce and Salsa Verde.  With Salsa Verde, it is made using tomatillo instead of actual green tomatoes.  The tomatillo, also known as tomato verde (green tomato) or Mexican husk cherry is related to the gooseberry, and in the nightshade family.

 

 

Basic Green Chile Sauce

 

Ingredients:

 

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp canola oil

6 large green chile peppers; roasted, seeded, peeled and chopped

1 tsp cumin

2 cups water

salt

 

Preparation:

 

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat; saute' onion until softened; the garlic should be added when you see the onion just beginning to soften.  Reduce heat to low, add the peppers, cumin and water; simmer for 30 minutes; stirring occasionally.  Puree to desired consistency using a blender or immersion blender; add salt to taste.

 

Makes 1 and 1/2 cups.

 

Basic Salsa Verde

 

Ingredients:

 

6 tomatillos, removed from husks and washed

water

1/4 chopped onion

1 clove garlic

3 large large green chile peppers; roasted, seeded, peeled and chopped

salt 

 

Preparation:

 

Place tomatillos and water into a large saucepan; on medium-high heat, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. 

 

Quarter the tomatillos; add tomatillos, onion, garlic and peppers to a blender.   Set on puree and slowly add 1/4 cup water until ingredients achieve a smooth texture.

 

Makes 1 and 1/2 cups.

 

Ok, so what do you do with the sauces now?  While you can use them as dips for a party, they can be used in such Mexican recipes as enchiladas or burritos; used as toppings for a breakfast skillet or even in a main dish.  Here's a simple recipe you can make quickly at home; rice, grilled vegetables or a salad can serve as the side dish.

 



 

Green Chile Chicken

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 Tbsp olive oil

8 skinless chicken tenderloins

1 tsp Mexican oregano

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

2 Tbsp white wine

1 cup green chile sauce, warmed

8 tsp diced red tomatoes

 

Preparation:

 

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, heat the oil; place the chicken "skin side up" and evenly sprinkle with the oregano, black pepper and salt. Brown chicken for 3 minutes.

Turn the tenderloins over, remove the skillet from the heat and add the white wine; this will keep the wine from accidentally catching on fire. Remember, you're not making a flambe', you're just searing the chicken. Set back on heat and cook 3 minutes before removing from skillet.




Two tenderloins per serving, a tablespoon of sauce over each plus a teaspoon of diced red tomatoes.  So you'll get the heat temperature from the seared chicken and warmed sauce; the spicy heat of the green chiles grabs you; but now the cool, sweetness of the tomatoes gives you a full flavor taste explosion in your mouth.  Mexican style rice, grilled vegetables or even a simple salad as a side makes this a complete meal; and there's the key word: simple.

Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Convenience Cooking? Avoid the box.

We have all done it; time is short, too much to do, so we grab a boxed meal for convenience. It could be one of those on the shelf meals that you just add meat, chicken or tuna and water to; or it could be a factory made meal from the freezer. It’s not really the cooking that takes up so much time really, it’s the prep work; the cutting, chopping, measuring. There are many items that can be found pre-cut in the freezer section of the local market: onions, peppers, carrots, potatoes, etc. Depending on what recipe you’re creating, measuring out these pre-cut items can ease your time load. Also, these items can be broken down into pre-measured ingredients, bagged together with your pre-measured meat, chicken or seafood and there you go, a homemade frozen meal just ready to go.

Many fresh vegetables can be prepped ahead also. I often buy bell and hot peppers when they are on sale. They can be chopped, sliced, diced, and/or roasted; then frozen to be readily available when needed. Carrots, peas, corn can be blanched, cooled quickly in ice water, drained and then frozen in measured amounts. Think of it as canning without using bottles, and having to buy all the tools for the process.

Veggies can also be stored in a good olive oil, refrigerated and added to salads, sandwiches or to enhance a cooked meal. No matter how you decide to store your food, you are the one who knows definitely what is in it; no labels to decipher.

Roasting Vegetables

Garlic

Without removing the papery skin, or separating the cloves, cut the top off the head of the garlic bulb; make sure to expose all of the cloves. Place the bulbs, root side down, into an oven proof glass dish. Pour 1/8 cup of olive oil over each bulb; this will keep the garlic moist and prevent a hard “skin” from forming. Bake in a preheated 300F oven for one hour. While still hot, grasp the bottom of the bulb (use an oven mitt or clean towel to prevent burning skin) and squeeze out the soft pulp. The pulp can be used for spreading on toasted bread, or adding to a recipe.

Shallots

Remove the papery skin and roots from the shallots, place into an oven proof glass dish. Coat the shallots with ¼ cup of olive oil; bake according to the garlic directions. The natural sugar in shallots will help to caramelize the olive oil on them. They can be tossed into salads, sauces or added to a recipe.

Red Bell Peppers

Make sure the peppers being used are firm to the touch; if soft, they are old. If the stove is gas, turn the burners on low and place the peppers directly on top. Use tongs to turn the peppers as the skin blackens. The peppers can also be blackened on a barbeque grill, or under the broiler. Once blackened on all sides, place the peppers in a paper bag and seal the bag; this will cause a steaming process. Once the peppers are warm to the touch, the skin will easily peel off, and the seeds can be removed. Chop, dice, slice up the peppers for salads, dressings, sauces, or added to a recipe.

Storage

Place roasted garlic or vegetables in a jar (glass for refrigerating; plastic for freezing) and cover with olive oil. If refrigerated, use within one week; if frozen, it can be stored for up to three months. To use, bring up to room temperature, as oil will be coagulated and needs to be reliquified.

Mary Cokenour