Roasted-Garlic Puppodums

This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno.

Heat Scale
Submit Recipe


Ingredients:

2 large whole garlic heads
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 finely chopped seeded serrano chiles
8 Indian puppodums (such as Sharwood’s)

Instructions:

Preheat an oven to 400F. Remove the white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves) and wrap each head separately in foil. Bake at 400F for 45 minutes, then allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Separate the cloves and squeeze to extract the garlic pulp. Discard the skins.

Combine the garlic, cilantro, tomato paste, oil and chiles. Microwave 1 puppodum at a time on HIGH for 40-50 seconds or until the edges curl and entire the puppodum is cream colored, turning as necessary to avoid uncooked spots. Spread a tablespoon of the garlic spread over each puppodum. These are equally good on pita points.

Yields 8 servings.

Recipe by Julie Sahni, Cooking Light, November 2003.