Little Green Chile and Cheddar Biscuits with a Simple Country Gravy
Anaheim’s are very popular in Southwestern US Cuisine. Also called “New Mexican Chile”. These were developed by Dr. Fabian Garcia in New Mexico about 100 yrs ago who was seeking a chile pepper that was bigger, fleshier, and milder.
They got the name “Anaheim” when a farmer named Emilio Ortega brought these seeds to the Anaheim area in the early 1900′s. This chile can be roasted and peeled and used in recipes or stuffed to make chile rellenos just as the Poblano Chile.
Ingredients:
biscuits:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
7 ounces diced green chiles
1 cup mild cheddar, grated
2/3 cup buttermilk
heavy cream for brushing
Sausage gravy:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted:
4 tilapia fillets (about 6 oz each)
½ lb breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk or half & half
½ teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Sift of whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Using a pastry cutter, two knives or your fingers cut butter into the flour mixture until a coarse mealy texture has been achieved. Fold in the chiles and cheddar. Add buttermilk and mix until the dough just comes together. Form dough into an 8 to 10 inch disc about ½ inch thick.
Using a 2 inch circle cutter cut 16 biscuits and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until gold brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. While the biscuits cool prepare the gravy: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add sausage and brown, about 4 minutes. Remove sausage from the pan and set aside. Drain all but 1 tablespoon fat from the saucepan. Add remaining butter to pan and melt. Whisk in flour until fully incorporated and continue to whisk, about 2 minutes. Add milk to pan and continue to whisk until smooth and gravy begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in pepper. Add sausage back to pan and stir. Season with salt and serve warm over biscuits.
Makes 16 biscuits.
Adapted from spoonforkbacon.com