Chiptole and Tamarind-Braised Collard Greens
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:
3 large dried chipotle chiles, stemmed and seeded
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
6 pounds collard greens, stems and inner ribs discarded, leaves cut into 1-inch strips
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbsp. tamarind concentrate or 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Instructions:
Using kitchen shears, cut the chiles into very thin strips. In a stockpot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and chiles and cook over high heat until the garlic is just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the collard greens by large handfuls and stir to wilt each batch before adding more. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook the collards over moderately low heat until they are tender, about 40 minutes.
Transfer 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to a small bowl and stir in the tamarind concentrate. Stir this mixture into the collards and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the collards and their liquid to a large bowl and serve.
Recipe by Grace Parisi, from the November 2003 issue of Food and Wine Magazine.