Chipotle Cheese Grits

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:

3 cups water
3/4 cup quick-cooking grits
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz. shredded extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, mashed

Instructions:

Boil the water and add the grits and salt. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring twice.

Once thickened, remove the grits from the heat and stir in the cheese and mashed pepper.

Yields 4 servings.

Recipe by Anne E. Stewart, Relish Good Food Fast, “Meat & Three,” July 2008.