Seafood Chilpachole
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Ingredients:
1 pound unpeeled medium shrimp
7 cups chicken stock or 3-1/2 (16 oz.) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, sliced
2 (6″) corn tortillas
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
14 oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained
1 onion, quartered
1 drained canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 pound red snapper or other firm white fish fillets, cut into 1″ pieces
7 lime wedges
Instructions:
Peel the shrimp, reserving the shells. Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise; cover and chill. Combine the reserved shrimp shells, chicken stock, and sliced garlic in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving the broth mixture. Discard the shrimp shells and return the broth mixture to the saucepan.
Add the tortillas to the broth mixture and let them stand for 10 seconds or until they become soft. Remove the tortillas from the broth and place the tortillas, salt and the next 4 ingredients (salt through chile) in a blender; process until well-blended.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add the tortilla mixture and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir the tortilla mixture into the broth mixture. Bring to a boil; add the shrimp and fish. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until the seafood is done. Serve with lime wedges.
Yield: 7 servings (serving size: 1-1/2 cups)
Recipe by Jim Fobel.