Seared Cod with Chile Sauce
The Guajillo (wha-hee-oh) chile is the most common dried chile in Mexico after the Ancho. The flavor of the Guajillo is distinct, slightly fruity with a strong piney, berry under taste. Guajillo flavors dished easily so a little goes a long way. This chile is between a 2-4 on the heat scale of 1-10. Guajillo, combined with the Passilla and Ancho, form the holy trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces.
Suggested Use:
A mildly hot chile. Use in sauces, salsa, soups and your favorite chile. A little goes a long way.
Ingredients:
4 dried guajillo or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 small plum tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2-1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ( 6-7 oz.) skinless cod fillets
Instructions:
In a medium cast-iron skillet, toast the chiles over moderately high heat until they are fragrant, about 1 minute. Fill a small bowl with very hot water and submerge the toasted chiles in it until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain the chiles and discard the soaking liquid.
Meanwhile, in the same skillet, cook the tomatoes and onion cut side down over high heat until they begin to blacken, about 3 minutes. Transfer the tomatoes and onion to a blender and add the softened guajillos, garlic and stock. Puree the ingredients until smooth.
In a medium saucepan, heat the 1-1/2 Tbsp. of the vegetable oil. Add the flour and whisk over moderate heat until smooth. Slowly whisk in the chile sauce and season with salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 8 minutes.
Season the cod with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil. Add the cod and cook over moderately high heat until white throughout, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the cod to plates and spoon the guajillo chile sauce on top and serve immediately.
Serve with boiled new potatoes.
Recipe from Food & Wine Magazine.