Chipotle Butter
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:
2 chipotle chiles
4 oz. (1/4 cup or 1/2 stick) butter cut into 1/2″ slices
4 oz. cream cheese
2 oz. plain yogurt
Instructions:
Let butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. If using dried chipotles, warm them for a minute in the oven or skillet, remove the stems and shake out as many seeds as possible. Place in a food processor with 2 Tbs. water and grind coarsely. Add the butter, cream cheese and yogurt to the food processor and pulse quickly to mix.
Pack the mixture into a small serving bowl. Serve as a spread or dip with crisp tortilla chips, fresh warm tortillas, or raw vegetables.
Chipotle spread is also delicious as a topping for grilled fish and meats.