Southwest Chicken with Chipotle Cream
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 lb chicken (legs with thigh)
3/4 cup milk
3 chipotle chiles
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp margarine (butter)
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
8 oz cheese (queso, grated monterrey jack)
Minced chipotle chile to garnish
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chicken in an ovenproof baking dish, and place in preheated oven, and bake for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine milk, chipotles, garlic, cumin, onion powder, and salt in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
Heat butter and flour in a large skillet and blend until smooth, then add heavy cream and sour cream, whisking until smooth. Stir in chipotle puree, and stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, then remove from heat.
After chicken has baked 25 minutes, remove from oven and drain any fat.
Pour chipotle cream over chicken and top with grated queso cheese. Replace chicken in oven and bake for about 20 minutes more, or until cheese just starts to brown.
Remove from oven and serve with extra sauce spooned over chicken and garnished with minced chipotle chiles, if desired.
From yummly.com