Chipotle-Cheddar Cornbread

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.

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Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
Approximately 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup grated cheddar
1-2 chipotles, rehydrated in hot water, then drained and minced
2-3 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix first five ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture; add egg and beat. Add buttermilk 1/4 cup at time and incorporate into dry ingredients. Add buttermilk until batter is evenly moist (not soupy.) Stir in cheese and minced chipotle.

In a cast iron or other oven-safe skillet, melt butter. Remove from heat and spoon batter into skillet. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes till lightly browned on top.

Recipe by Laurie Joyce