Ancho Corn Cakes

Ancho (Ahn-cho) Chile (Capsicum Annum) means Wide Chile Pepper. This chile ranges from 3 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. An Ancho is the dried form of a Poblano Pepper and often is mislabeled as a Pasilla or Mulato Pepper. Anchos have sweet fruity flavor with hints of cherry, prune, and fig. Anchos, combined with the Pasilla and Guajillo, form the Holy Trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces. Scoville heat units are 1,000 to 3,000.

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Ingredients:

2 ancho chiles
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp. olive oil
sour cream
your favorite salsa

Instructions:

Place the anchos in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil and remove the saucepan from the heat. Cover and let the chiles stand for 10 minutes, then drain.

When the chiles are cool enough to handle, remove the skins, stems and seeds, then finely dice and set them aside.

In bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and oregano. In a separate bowl, mix the milk with the melted butter and egg. Stir into the flour mixture and fold in the corn and anchos.

Ladle the batter onto a hot, lightly oiled griddle to make 3-inch cakes. Cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer the cakes to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, then serve warm with some sour cream and salsa.

Yields 4 servings.

Recipe from “Totally Chile Pepper Cookbook” by Helene Siegal and Karen Gillingham. Printed in Newsday (Long Island Newspaper), Taking The Heat off Chiles by Wendy Lin, June 4, 1997, Food and Dining section.