Chile Especial
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 (7 oz.) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 pound lean ground round
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. vegetable oil
2-1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained
1 (7 oz.) jar roasted red bell peppers, chopped
1-1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Instructions:
Remove 1 chile en adobe from the can. Mince the chile and set aside. Reserve the remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use. Cook the beef, onion and garlic in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the meat is brown, then stir to crumble and drain.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the chili powder and next 4 ingredients (chili powder through salt). Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the minced chipotle chile, water, cherry tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and cover. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the meat mixture and beans. Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the bell peppers and vinegar. Cook for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Yields 6 servings.
Recipe from Health Magazine, October 2001.